The National Medical Device Policy 2023 has outlined a comprehensive roadmap for India’s medical technology (MedTech) sector. From aiming for 10-12% share in the global medical devices market over the next 25 years, to cementing India’s manufacturing foothold and advancing research, the policy offers a strategic roadmap for India’s medical tech companies. Chaitanya Sarawate, managing director, Wipro GE HealthCare, speaks to Sudhir Chowdhary on the initiatives needed to ensure made-in-India products achieve cost and quality competitiveness in the global markets. Excerpts:
A majority of the medical devices used in India are imported. How can we strengthen the local manufacturing base?
Access to care is not completed by just placing made-in-India technology in smaller towns. We need to ensure improved patient safety, better outcomes by delivering high-quality medical technology, training local staff to use this technology, and service the technology throughout the lifecycle to maintain working standards.
A critical aspect of accelerating make-in- India is prioritising sourcing of homegrown medical technology products. For instance, some states offer rebates to healthcare facilities built in non-metros for buying MedTech products, enabling healthcare infrastructure to be built in access-restricted geographies. It would benefit if healthcare facilities received additional rebates for buying made-in-India MedTech.
What are the potential roadblocks?
We must also address the roadblocks in the way of local procurement. In private procurement, we have incentives for buying locally — via custom duty differentials between duty on import of parts versus finished devices. However, the customs duty differential is not uniformly applied for all parts used in medical devices, making it insufficient, and discouraging local procurement.
Challenges that could potentially limit the procurement of locally manufactured medical devices should also be removed. The government allows the import of selected products/technologies that are not locally manufactured; this list is reducing each year. While products not on the list are expected to be procured from local manufacturers, the list needs to be uniformly applied to all public procurement.
How do we ensure made-in-India products meet global quality standards?
Harmonisation of Indian and global quality standards and eliminating multiplicity of regulations will go a long way in ensuring made-in-India MedTech achieves cost and quality competitiveness. From design to manufacturing, storage and servicing, we must ensure that made-in-India products meet quality standards throughout their life cycle. This will instill confidence in global markets regarding made-in-India offerings.
Can India become the hub for MedTech innovation?
Absolutely. As India walks into the techade with significant policy changes, technology will take a giant leap to make healthcare smarter, improve patient outcomes and lower costs. Investments in research will unleash the power of AI, ML and advanced data analytics to streamline clinical decision-making.
In Bengaluru, GE HealthCare has its largest R&D centre outside the US. Our 5G Innovation Lab, the first for GE HealthCare globally, serves as a conduit for the interplay of exponential technologies like AI/ML, IoT, big data, edge computing and cyber security. We have collaborations with IISc, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras, to further research. A boost to local R&D through innovation-linked incentive schemes, on the lines of production-linked incentive will be a step in the right direction for India.
