• Medical devices exports growth exceeds imports, govt move will prove to be shot-in-the-arm

The Rs 500 crore MedTech scheme announced by the government on Friday will help the domestic players in the medical equipment industry to restart manufacturing and even become exporters. They had become mere traders and resorted to pseudo manufacturing due to the prevalent market compulsions and harsh realities.

The domestic medical devices manufacturers have hailed the move by the government and said that the new Medtech scheme will provide the much needed fillip to address the skill shortage problem in the industry and also strengthen the export opportunities for these equipment and devices from India.

“We are delighted with the announcement made by Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Mr JP Nadda for giving impetus to manufacturing of medical devices. The domestic players who had become traders and importers and shifted to pseudo manufacturing will now be again motivated to become actual manufacturers and produce complete products and their components in house,” said Mr Rajiv Nath, Forum Coordinator, Aimed.

The Budgetary allocation announced by the government this scheme may seem small and humble but this is ground breaking strategy will have a multiplier impact and it is a clever leverage to move the Indian Elephant in the direction to achieve Prime Minister’s vision to make India the leading hub of medical devices manufacturing globally, as announced in the national medical devices policy to 2023, added Mr Nath.

The current export of medical devices from India stands at USD 3.7 billion, making India the fourth largest market in Asia. The current market size is USD 14 billion but the Medtech scheme introduced by the government will help the Indian manufacturers to seize the potential to achieve a market size of USD 20 billion by 2026-2027.

The Medtech scheme introduced by the government encompasses key aspects of manufacturing of medical devices like skill development, clinical study assistance, establishment of shared infrastructure and promotion of the industry at national and international stages.

Minister Nadda described the scheme as a transformative initiative that will benefit the industry while promoting India’s journey toward self-reliance in the medical equipment domain.

Under the scheme, the government will offer financial support to medical device clusters to establish common infrastructure like R&D labs and design and testing centers. It will also strengthen the Medtech supply chain by encouraging local manufacturing of essential components.

The scheme also offers financial assistance to industry associations and export councils to organize events like conferences and exhibitions.

The domestic medical devices manufacturing industry can offer really cost-effective and innovative products for both domestic and overseas markets. The medical devices manufacturing industry now comprise of a wide range of products like consumables, disposables and even high-end diagnostic and therapeutic devices. The key segments of the product portfolio of the domestic manufacturing industry includes diagnostic imaging, consumables, patient aids, dental products and orthopaedic implants.

The growth of exports of medical devices by India has started to supersede the growth of imports. The annual growth rate of exports of medical equipment and devices for the last three years stands at an impressive 13.8% while the yearly growth rate of imports has fallen to -2.08% in the same time period.

With this new Medtech Scheme, the domestic manufacturers can even achieve a market size of USD 50 billion by USD 50 billion by 2030.