The healthcare industry continued to react strongly to the proposed service tax hike in the budget with Devi Shetty, one of the country's renowned heart surgeons, writing an open letter calling the levy "unfortunate" and seeking observance of March 12 as 'Misery Day' to protest it.

Shetty, founder of Narayana Hrudayalaya, a hospital chain specialising in cardiac care,
said in the letter published in newspapers: "A patient undergoing a heart surgery would have to pay Rs.5,000 to Rs.10,000 more with the introduction of the proposed service tax. If the patient suffers from cancer, this tax will be anywhere in excess of Rs.20,000."