The Union Cabinet on April 27 approved the National Medical Devices Policy to boost domestic production and trim down imports of the equipment. The new policy will ease organised growth of the medical device sector and help address the public health objectives of access, affordability, quality, and innovation, the government said. It aims to help the medical devices sector grow from the present $11 billion to $50 billion in the next five years.
Briefing the media after the Cabinet meeting, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the sunrise sector is expected to realise its full potential, with strategies such as building an enabling ecosystem for manufacturing along with a focus on innovation, creating a robust and streamlined regulatory framework, providing support in training and capacity building programmes, and promoting higher education to foster talent and skilled resources in line with the industry requirements.
The government has already initiated the implementation of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for medical devices and extended support for setting up of four medical device parks in Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh. Under the PLI scheme, 26 projects have so far been approved with a committed investment of Rs 1,206 crore. Out of this, an investment of Rs 714 crore has already been achieved.
