The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has selected seven research centres across leading Indian institutions to accelerate the development of priority medical devices and diagnostic technologies aimed at addressing unmet healthcare needs. The initiative will focus on affordable, accessible and indigenously developed technologies, strengthening India’s medical technology (MedTech) ecosystem and reducing dependence on imported healthcare products.

The selected institutions are the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) at Kharagpur, Delhi, Bombay, Kanpur and Madras; the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru; and Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore.
The programme spans several priority areas, including portable screening and point-of-care technologies for primary healthcare, biomaterials, ophthalmic and vascular devices, frugal diagnostics, regenerative medicine, personalised healthcare, artificial intelligence, digital health and advanced therapeutics.

IIT Bombay will focus on portable screening, monitoring and point-of-care technologies for primary healthcare, while Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham will work on technologies for eye and vascular diseases. IISc Bengaluru will concentrate on biomaterials and translational medical devices. IIT Kharagpur’s PRAGATICAR initiative will cover frugal diagnostics, regenerative healthcare, AI and advanced therapeutics, while IIT Delhi’s CAR-PATH will develop priority applied healthcare technologies.

At IIT Kanpur, a multidisciplinary team will work on 10 priority healthcare products. IIT Madras will host TARaNGaM, a translational hub for next-generation medical technology, devices and diagnostics.
To identify areas requiring urgent innovation, ICMR consulted clinicians working across different healthcare settings, including Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. This exercise produced a curated list of approximately 100 priority medical device and diagnostic technologies addressing unmet clinical needs. Under the programme, each selected centre is expected to propose the development of at least eight to 10 technologies, covering a mix of low-risk and high-risk products.

The scheme provides funding of up to ₹15 crore per centre over five years, supporting regulatory-compliant product development, prototyping, validation and eventual commercialisation. The initiative also aims to build specialised research capabilities and strengthen collaboration between clinicians, researchers, industry and technology developers.

The selection marks a step towards translating Indian research into clinically useful products. The long-term impact will depend on successful technology validation, regulatory approvals, manufacturing partnerships and the adoption of these innovations in healthcare settings.