Wipro healthcare arm partners for state health scheme

Wipro GE Healthcare on Monday tied up with two partners for developing a medical device and training community workers to support the government's ambitious National Health Protection Scheme -- 'Ayushman Bharat'.

"We are partnering with Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research (Sameer) to develop a 1.5T (tesla) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system for meeting the local demand," said the medical technology firm in a statement here.

Sameer is a research and development (R&D) unit under the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) which will design and develop the MRI platform.

The two partners will collaborate to also develop artificial intelligence and machine learning based solutions for the MRI device.

"We are sharing our expertise with Sameer to enhance India's capability in medical technology and support the government's healthcare scheme," said GE Healthcare Chief Executive Kieran Murphy on the occasion.

The development of the MRI device is part of Scan Era, a national mission of the DeitY and funded by the government under the Prime Minister's Digital India initiative.

"Sameer has received $6.5 million (Rs 4.8 crore) first-round of funding to build the first prototype of the MRI scanner," said the statement.

The city-based Wipro's joint venture with the American General Electric (GE) Healthcare arm has also tied up with the Healthcare Sector Skill Council (HSSC) to train workers and under-privileged youth across the country for the state-run flagship programme.

HSSC is a not-for-profit and non-statutory certifying body under the Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, promoted by the Confederation of Indian Industry, National Skills Development Corporation and healthcare leaders.

"As skilled resources will be critical to sustain the national healthcare scheme, about 500 workers and 3,000 youth will be trained in 2019," the statement said.

The flagship Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (healthcare scheme) will provide financial protection to 10.74-crore poor, deprived rural families and identified categories of urban workers' families, with a benefit cover of Rs 5-lakh per family per year.

--IANS

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