The Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) 6th Medical Technology Conference was recently held in New Delhi. The conference focused on the medical technology and its vital place in India’s healthcare sector. Present on the occasion were Ajay Shankar, Member Secretary, National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council;
Dr GN Singh, Drug Controller General (India); Dr SE Reddy, Deputy Drug Controller, India; Dr Naresh Trehan, Chairman, CII National Committee on Healthcare and CMD, Medanta – The Medicity along with a large number of participants from the entire healthcare spectrum.
Dr Singh said, “The 12th Five-Year plan has envisaged the creation of as many as 1200 technical personnel including 300 medical devices officers for efficient implementation of the new regulatory regime as envisaged in the Medical Devices Bill, which is now under consideration of the Rajya Sabha.”
Shankar emphasised that the Government was cognisant that the industry was poised to grow very rapidly in the next 10 years, possibly at a rate of 10 per cent to 12 per cent creating more than hundred million jobs in the process. He supported the industry’s proposal for Government’s interventions in creating an ecosystem for innovation, R&D and provide incubation and funding support to start-ups. He further observed that NMCC was open to the creation of a strategic package for the medical technology industry to support its growth provided the industry could present to the NMCC a unified proposal encompassing different strategic elements.
Trehan focused on the need for the medical technology sector to come forward with innovations that could not only meet the high-end requirements, but also able to address the enormous healthcare demand that are emerging in the country at the urban, suburban and rural levels. He urged the industry to come forward with innovations which could meet the requirements of the population in the last mile. In this context, he said that India should learn from the experience of other countries and the sector should work towards a strategic programme for developing into a powerhouse and innovation hub which could not only meet the burgeoning demand for healthcare delivery in the country but also be able to serve the needs of many other countries in the African, Asian and CIS regions etc.
Pavan Choudary, Chairman, CII Medical Equipment Division and MD, Vygon India shared, “If India has to achieve universal healthcare for all by 2020, it has to ensure that the four wheels of healthcare viz. the healthcare providers, the pharma industry, the health insurance sector and the medical technology industry grow in tandem. Though medical technology is vital, it was still the smallest of the wheels. To help it reach its potential it needs smooth flows of FDI, technical and R&D collaborations, a strong incentive to set up manufacturing units in India, a robust technological ecosystem to support this manufacturing activity, and an appropriate regulatory regime.”
Himanshu Baid, Co-Chairman, CII Medical Equipment Division and MD, Poly Medicure while addressing the audience said, “In India about 70 per cent of the population stays in rural areas having limited access to the healthcare facilities in comparison to the urban population. Through CII, we aim to bring innovative technologies, meet the external and internal challenges and eliminate the gap between rural and urban facilities.”
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