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Medical devices policy gets Cabinet approval
The National Medical Devices Policy, 2023 is expected to facilitate growth of the medical devices sector to meet the public health objectives of access, affordability, quality and innovation
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the National Medical Devices Policy, 2023, which aims to reduce India’s heavy import dependence in this sector ( 75-80% currently), according to a government statement.
The Cabinet also approved 157 nursing colleges which were announced in this year’s Union Budget.
“Currently about 75-80% of medical devices are imported in India and with this scheme the government will enhance India’s manufacturing capacity. It is also essential to enhance indigenous capacity as there is a growing demand for affordable quality medical devices. There is a need for systemic development and expansion of medical devices industry in the country,” said Mansukh Mandaviya, Union minister for health and family welfare, during- a media briefing on Cabinet approvals.
The National Medical Devices Policy, 2023 is expected to facilitate growth of the medical devices sector to meet the public health objectives of access, affordability, quality and innovation.
According to the government data, the market for medical devices in India was estimated to be $11 billion (approximately, ₹ 90,000 crore) in 2020, accounting for 1.5% of the global market.
Local manufacturing is expected to increase this by broadening the market for medical devices in the country
“The government’s target is to take it to around 12% in the next 25 years,” said Anurag Thakur, I&B minister, during the briefing.
Thakur said that the Government of India has already initiated implementation of a PLI scheme for medical devices and also support for setting up of four medical devices manufacturing parks in the states of 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 ₹1,206 crore and out of this, so far, an investment of ₹714 crore has been achieved. Under the PLI scheme, total of 14 projects producing 37 products have been commissioned and domestic manufacturing of high-end medical devices has started which include Linear Accelerator, MRI Scan, CT-Scan, Mammogram, C-Arm, MRI Coils, high end X-ray tubes, etc. Remaining 12 products will be commissioned in the near future. Five projects out of total 26 projects have been approved recently, under Category B, for domestic manufacturing of 87 products / product components,” said a statement from the government’s press and information bureau .
The PLI or production linked incentive scheme was launched in 2020 and currently covers 13 sectors where companies are incentivised to manufacture locally.
Mandaviya said that the sector is expected to realize its full potential by building an enabling ecosystem for manufacturing along with a focus on innovation, creating a robust and streamlined regulatory framework, providing support in training and capacity building programmes and promoting higher education to foster talent and skilled resources in line with the industry requirements. Encouraging domestic investments and production of medical devices complements the Government’s “Atmanirbhar Bharat” and ”Make in India“programmes, he added.
The salient features of the policy include strategies to promote medical device sector that will be cover five broad areas of policy interventions— regulatory streamlining; enabling infrastructure; facilitating research and development and innovation; attracting investments in the sector; and human resource development
Pavan Choudary, chairman, MTaI (Medical Technology Association of India), said, “Though we still have to go through the fine print, we are encouraged by the spotlight turned on R&D. While India has only 1.5% of the global medical device market, it has 8% share of the MedTech R&D work force already. This is a fertile and proven area to focus on. In addition to this, skilling and upskilling of healthcare workers augers well for patient-care and manpower exports.”
The Cabinet also approved establishing 157 nursing colleges as was announced in this year’s Union budget, a move that is likely to create 15,700 more nursing seats in the country.
“There is a huge demand for trained nurses and the demand is growing significantly. Currently, India has 1,18,000 BSc nursing seats. Since 2014, the government has added 157 new medical colleges and each of these will have a nursing college attached with at least 100 seats,” said Mandaviya.
Each of the colleges will be allocated ₹10 crore to establish the nursing college, and states can provide more money based on individual requirement.
The data shared by the government show that the UK has 26,000 Indian nurses, the US has 16,000, Australia has 12,000, Canada has 5000, and the Gulf region has around 20,000 nurses from India working in their health facilities.
The new colleges will help India “meet the requirement domestically as well as globally with the increase in health care facilities around the world,” said Mandaviya.
NURSING COLLEGE COMMENT
