Govt working on a scheme to strengthen Indian Medical Device sector: Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, GoI

Dr Arunish Chawla, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilisers, Govt of India today said that the PLI schemes for medical devices sector have succeeded, and the government is now looking at the post PLI framework. “The government approved the Medical Devices policy a few months ago, and this new scheme is being designed to support the industry and reduce our import dependence going forward beyond the PLI,” he added.

Addressing the ‘MediTech Stackathon-II 2024’, organised by FICCI, jointly with the Department of Pharmaceuticals, GoI, Dr Chawla added the MediTech Stackathon is part of an industry consultation exercise of the government to improve the sector. The proposed scheme, he stated will be based on  five key components including ‘Common Facilities for medical devices clusters; Capacity building and Skill Development; Marginal Investment Scheme for reducing import dependence; focus on clinical trial support and medical device promotion scheme. He stated we need to bring the policy stack together in a manner that enables India to achieve the vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047

Dr Chawla further urged the industry to invest more in clinical trials. Highlighting the importance of skilled manpower required in the medical devices sector, Dr Chawla said, “Across the industry, there is a shortage of technical manpower, particularly medical engineers. To address this gap, we have partnered with the relevant skill development council in the industry to support both the training and development of technicians and medical engineers.”

Ravindra Pratap Singh, Joint Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilisers, Govt of India said that MediTech Stackathon-II represents the culmination of efforts gone in the last three months to complete the value chain mapping exercise. Stackathon is bridge which connects the output with the outcomes which will benefit the sector, he noted.

Ganesh Sabat, Co-Chair, FICCI Medical Devices Committee & CEO, Sahajanand Medical Technologies said that there are numerous policy changes which are providing us with an advantage in realising our dream of creating a comprehensive ecosystem in the country. “The concept of meditech as an industry has finally taken root in India,” he added.