India has emerged among the world’s top five healthcare manufacturers, but at a much lesser cost: Dr Jitendra Singh

New Delhi:7/10/23: Amidst global competition for hi-tech medical devices, India has emerged among the world’s top five healthcare manufacturers, but at a much lesser cost, said Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh today. India is manufacturing life-saving high-risk medical devices but the cost is just a fraction of the rest, he said.

The Minister was delivering the Inaugural Address at the 8th CAHOTECH, Annual International Healthcare Technology Conference, organised by Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organizations (CAHO) in New Delhi.

Dr. Jitendra Singh said Medical Devices are considered one of the sunrise sectors in the country and the Government under Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s leadership is taking every possible step to make India its manufacturing hub.

“India is set to become the global hub of medical technology and devices with the market size estimated to grow up to US$ 50 billion by 2050 from the present $11 Bn (approximately, ₹ 90,000 Cr),” he said.

“From a market share of 1.5 percent, we hope to increase India’s market share to 10-12 percent over the next 25 years,” he added.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, medical devices have been identified as a priority sector by the Modi Government and it is committed to strengthening the indigenously manufacturing ecosystem.

The Central Government is supporting the setting up of 4 Medical Devices Parks in the States of Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh. Under the PLI scheme for Medical Devices, till now, a total of 26 projects have been approved, with a committed investment of Rs.1,206 Cr, and out of this, so far, an investment of Rs.714 Cr has been achieved. Out of the 26 projects, 14 projects producing 37 products have been commissioned and domestic manufacturing of high-end medical devices has started which include Linear Accelerator, MRI Scan, CT-Scan, Mammogram, C-Arm, MRI Coils, high-end X-ray tubes, etc.

Dr. Jitendra Singh said, with the handholding of Technology Development Board (TDB), Panacea Medical Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore last year launched India’s first most advanced & innovative SBRT-enabled Linear Accelerator (LINAC), SiddharthII, capable of performing treatment modalities like 3DCRT, VMAT, IMRT, SBRT and SRS. He said this is only the third brand in the world that is ready for the market besides two global giants UK and Japan.

“In line with Modi Government’s mantra of ‘Make in India’ with ‘Made for the World’, the machine can be exported to many countries in the world as the company has already received US FDA clearance,” he said.

The S&T Minister said the Government has circulated the latest draft of the Drugs, Medical Devices and Cosmetics Bill 2023 which has a provision that allows the government to regulate, restrict, or ban the online sale or distribution of any drugs by notification.