Transasia was one of the participants at the conference
Transasia Bio-Medicals has been providing accurate, reliable and affordable diagnostic solutions for over thirty five years now.
‘Make in India for the World’ has been Transasia’s credo all along. With its total solutions in Clinical Diagnosis, Transasia has spread its global footprints, serving millions across hundred countries. The ERBA-Transasia Group has been at the forefront of engineering and crafting indigenous products and solutions of international standards.
Medical Technology Conference is the annual flagship event of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The 8th edition of the conference was recently held at New Delhi. The event saw the congregation of the best names driving the Indian healthcare industry. The theme ‘A $50 Billion Medical Technology Industry: Making it Happen in India’ set forth a platform for a plethora of ideas and opportunities.
Suresh Vazirani, Chairman and Managing Director, ERBA-Transasia Group addressed the delegates on ‘Making India a Manufacturing and Export Hub- translating dreams into reality’. A strong apostle of the Make in India ideology, he advocated the need for indigenous manufacturing of healthcare products. While highlighting that the Indian healthcare market is on an upward growth track, Vazirani remarked, “Indigenous manufacturing is picking pace. At one point of time, the ratio of indigenous manufacturing to imports was just five per cent. However, tables have turned today. Many companies are now involved with in-house manufacturing. Indian companies have been manufacturing kits for blood grouping, serology, clinical chemistry, pregnancy detection, HIV detection and other rapid tests that are accepted globally. Today, imports of such products are negligible in finished form.”
He said, “Today, the diagnostic business is mainly based on technology. The drive or thrust for smaller, faster and easily accessible devices is increasing. Emerging markets have different needs with respect to test menus, technologies and operating procedures. Thus customised solutions need to be developed depending on the need. Indian companies with their R&D facilities have developed a range of good quality products for the local market amidst fierce competition.”
While talking about the steps to be taken to boost further innovation, he said, “Though the government has introduced many policies for in-house production, there is still scope for more. The government and private players need to join hands to promote innovation at reasonable prices. The government needs to initiate policies to encourage indigenous manufacturing. This can be done through availability of funds, land demarked for setting up manufacturing units, tax relaxation, encouraging research and development, etc. Encouraging foreign players to set up manufacturing units in India can help further.”
Vazirani alongwith other honchos of the industry offered useful insights to place India as a world leader on the global healthcare map.
Sudhanshu Pandey, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, graced the occasion and underscored the need for enhancing the medical device industry.
He referred to the new legislation which will help to regulate and harmonise the segment, which is presently covered by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. Pandey said, “Since the legislation might take some time, certain short-term measures also can be bought to address the immediate problems of the industry such as labelling requirements, etc.” He called the transfer of technology to give a leg up to the medical device industry by taking up contract designing, research leading to manufacturing. He also referred to better brand building of Indian medical device products to command higher prices in the international market. Products sourced from India at cheaper prices are sold at higher prices abroad, denying the Indian industry the benefits.
On a closing note, Pandey exhorted industry to evolve a pragmatic pricing policy for equipment. Product pricing should be transparent, predictable and economical to make the medical treatment affordable to the common man.