India is planning to build its first industrial parks for medical device manufacturing, according to a report from Med Device Online. Gujarat will be the site of the first medtech park, while the second one is set for Chengalpattu in Tamil Nadu.

The move is part of the national government's effort to boost local device manufacturing and rely less on imports of electronic devices.

In a report from the Economic Times, Ananth Kumar, union minister of chemicals and fertilizers, said India remains an "importing country as far as medical devices go," adding that the country's domestic industry accounted for only 2 per cent of the global industry that is worth $250 million.

Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, the government aims to change this scenario over the next five years. This is in line with the Make in India campaign, said Kumar.

According to the Business Standard, 69 per cent of India's total requirement for medical devices is imported, while high-end medical devices such as medical electronics, hospital equipment and surgical instruments constitute some 87 per cent of the total Indian market.

To help reduce the country's dependence on imported medical devices, the multi-agency government Task Force on Promotion of Domestic Production of High End Medical Devices issued a set of recommendations.

The task force's recommendations include beefing up policy, institutional, fiscal and infrastructural support to the local device industry; setting up an institutional unit for efficacy and safety testing; promoting skills development; and strengthening R&D, according to the Business Standard. Moreover, the task force supports the passage of a Medical Device Regulatory Act for the $6-billion industry.

Apart from the proposals, the government is also carrying out a revamped pricing strategy on imports as well as amending regulations on medical devices to promote domestic production.

By: DocMemory
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