The Central Government’s decision to approve the much-needed National Medical Devices Policy (NMDP), 2023, has been applauded by the Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD), the umbrella association of Indian manufacturers of medical devices including all types of medical devices such as consumables, disposables, equipments, instruments, electronics, diagnostics and implants. The association has expressed its hope that the policy will help boost the local manufacturing to end the import dependency.
The strategy was approved on April 26 by the Union Cabinet, which is presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “We commend the government completely for accepting the much-needed, long-awaited direction we had sought since the initial draught policy of June 2014 for a “National Medical Devices Policy,” said Rajiv Nath, forum coordinator for AiMeD. AiMeD is pleased that the Cabinet decided to announce a medical devices policy in order to satisfy Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s and India’s ambitions to become not only the world’s Aatmanirbhar in the field of medical devices but also to rank among the top 5 global suppliers of such products globally.
“We are more than optimism that the policy details will help boost local manufacturing, help investors and importers to start investing in constructing factories and end the 70–80% import dependency forced upon India as well as the ever-rising import bill which last year shot up by a steep 41% to over Rs. 63,000 crore,” he added.
Indian businesspeople came out during the Covid-19 epidemic to support Make in India and alleviate the lockdown crisis in the fight against the pandemic. At the time, there was a desperate need for a policy to bring together various government ministries and departments. Thankfully, the time has come when even the Parliamentary Committee on Health and Family Welfare has announced its recommendations to the government to take specific actions to promote Make in India of Medical Devices.
“We hope that AiMeD’s and the Parliamentary Committee’s recommendations are reflected in the policy details and that we will see this neglected sector flourish finally as the mobile phones & toy sector has recently with the right policy support,” he asserted. The National Medical Device Policy’s cabinet approval has been welcomed by the medical device industry, according to Dr. Rajiv Chhibber, vice president of Sahajanand Medical Technologies Ltd. and joint coordinator for government affairs with AiMeD.
In order to address patients’ changing healthcare demands, the policy seeks to put medical devices on an accelerated growth path with a patient-centric approach. This is also a big step towards realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of having accessible, affordable, and innovative healthcare solutions, making India a global centre for medical technology, and realising the goal of Universal Healthcare for All set forth in Vision 2047,” he continued. According to the Association, such a forward-thinking action by the government is anticipated to provide the necessary support and guidance to strengthen the medical devices industry into a competitive, self-sufficient, resilient, and innovative industry that meets the healthcare needs of both India and the rest of the world.
In order to fulfil patients’ changing healthcare demands, the National Medical Devices Policy, 2023 seeks to put the medical device industry on a faster path of growth with a patient-centric strategy.
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