Cabinet approves National Medical Devices Policy 2023: Mansukh Mandaviya

Briefing the media after the Cabinet meeting, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the National Medical Devices Policy will promote domestic production of medical devices

The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved National Medical Devices Policy 2023 with an aim to increase domestic production and reduce imports of such equipment, said Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Lal Mandaviya to the reporters in a press briefing after Cabinet meeting.

Last year, the government had floated an approach paper on the draft national medical devices policy 2022 for consultation.

The policy is expected to help the medical devices sector grow from the present $11 billion to $50 billion in the next five years.

The government has already initiated the implementation of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for medical devices and extended support for setting up 4 medical device parks in Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh. Under the PLI scheme for medical devices, till now, a total of 26 projects have been approved with a committed investment of Rs 1,206 crore, and out of this, so far, an investment of Rs 714 crore has been achieved, the health minister said.

During the cabinet meeting, the establishment of 157 government nursing colleges was also approved at a cost of Rs 1,570 crore in co-location with existing medical colleges, Mandaviya said.

Mandaviya further added that the aim is to provide quality, affordable, and equitable nursing education in the country and enhance the number of nursing professionals.

Co-location of these nursing colleges with medical colleges will allow optimal utilisation of the existing infrastructure, skill labs, clinical facilities, and faculty. The government plans to complete the project within two years with detailed timelines laid out for every stage of planning as well as execution.

During the meeting, the Union Cabinet paid tribute to ten police personnel killed in an IED blast in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, Anurag Thakur said. Ten policemen were killed when their vehicle was blown up by an improvised explosive device (IED) in the Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday.

The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also passed a resolution condoling the death of former Punjab chief minister and Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch Parkash Singh Badal who died on Tuesday, Thakur told reporters.