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Government and industry should work together to bring down import dependence in the medical device segment to below 50 per cent over the next five years, Department of Pharmaceuticals Secretary Arunish Chawla said on Tuesday. Highlighting the critical need to focus on quality to ensure that India becomes globally competitive, he noted that the government is in the process of formulating standards for over 2,000 medical devices being produced in the country in order to make them globally competitive. "Right now our med-tech sector is 75-80 per cent import dependent. In the next five years, we want to bring down this import dependence to less than 50 per cent," Chawla said while speaking to reporters here on the sidelines of an industry event to formulate better policies for the sector. Chawla noted that deliberations were also held during the Meditech Stackathon 2024 to scale the medical device exports to match the level of imports of such articles into the country, he added. Stress
Domestic medical devices industry should come up with cutting-edge technologies to gain leadership across global markets, NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr VK Paul said on Thursday. Speaking at an event here, he also asked the industry to initiate ways to tap AI for their respective medical devices. Paul noted that the government has already taken a lot of steps in policy terms and now it is the turn of the industry to move ahead. "We believe that we need frugal innovation, but we also strongly believe that India must do cutting-edge innovations...for our leadership in industry, for our leadership in the world," Paul said. The industry needs to address the cutting edge, breakthroughs, he said, adding that nothing much has been achieved after technologies like MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). "That means the space is open for us to catch up and leapfrog in the direction of new ideas, new solutions, and disruptive technologies that should emanate from India," Paul added. He noted that
Medical Technology Association of India (MTaI) on Tuesday said the import of pre-owned medical equipment can increase accessibility of such equipment for the patients, especially in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. In a statement, it noted that complex medical equipment like CT scan, MRI, robotic-assisted surgical systems, X-ray machines and endoscopes cost several millions of dollars, which often exceed the budgetary capability of small- to mid-sized hospitals. Pre-owned medical equipment, which are backed by adequate service guarantees and abide by regulatory requirements, can go a long way in solving this problem of access and affordability, it said. Earlier, the Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) asked the government to withdraw the official memorandum permitting the import of pre-owned medical devices, raising concerns that the move would impact domestic manufacturers. Countering the narrative, MTaI Chairman Pavan Choudary said there was a need to distinguish impor
Adar Poonawalla has taken Indian vaccines to the US and European markets. In an interview with Business Standard's Sohini Das, he tells about his plans for mass production of vaccines and more