The Lok Sabha has passed the Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025, introducing a cess on pan masala manufacturing units to fund national security and public health initiatives. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the cess will also be shared with states to strengthen healthcare systems
A shopkeeper sells pan masala in a roadside shop in Kolkata. Pic/Getty Images
The Lok Sabha passed a bill to levy a cess on manufacturing units of pan masala, and utilise the fund for strengthening national security and improving public health.
Replying to the debate on the Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the cess will be shared with the states, as public health is a state subject. The bill was later passed by voice vote by the Lok Sabha.
The bill seeks to augment the resources for meeting expenditure on national security and for public health by levying a cess on the machines installed or other processes undertaken to manufacture pan masala and similar goods. The purpose of the bill is to create a “dedicated and predictable resource stream” for two domains of national importance — health and national security, she said.
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