On Wednesday, a Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the National Medical Devices Policy, 2023.

According to the official release, the medical device business in India is a crucial and fundamental component of the Indian healthcare system. The medical device business in India is expected to be worth around 90,000 crore in 2020, with a 1.5% share of the worldwide medical device market.

The release stated that the policy was approved to facilitate the orderly growth of the medical device sector to meet the public health objectives of access, affordability, quality, and innovation. The Indian medical device business is expanding and has significant potential to become self-sufficient and contribute to the aim of universal health care.

The Government of India has already begun the implementation of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for medical devices, as well as assisting in the establishment of four medical device parks in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh.

The official release reported that under the PLI scheme, a total of 14 projects producing 37 products have been commissioned, along with domestic manufacturing of high-end medical devices such as linear accelerators, MRI scans, CT scans, mammograms, C-arms, MRI coils, high-end X-ray tubes, etc.

While various departments of the government have undertaken programmatic interventions to encourage the sector, the current policy aims to put in place a comprehensive set of focus areas for the growth of the sector in a coordinated manner. The report also added that due to the multi-disciplinary nature of the medical sector, the regulations, skills, trade, and promotion of the medical device industry are spread over several departments in the government, both at the center and state levels.

Hence, there is a need to bring together the range of interventions in a coherent manner to facilitate the focused and efficient functioning of all the respective agencies.

(Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/union-cabinet-approves-national-medical-devices-policy-2023-to-meet-health-objectives-of-access-affordability-101682525356224-amp.html )