Health

Government Announces National Medical Devices Policy, 2023: Here Are The Key Highlights

During the press briefing on April 26, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya informed that India imports 75 per cent of the medical devices. The medical device policy will help reduce imports and increase domestic production

Published

on

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the policy will boost the health sector and accelerate efforts to make India a leader in making and exporting medical devices.

New Delhi: The Central government approved the National Medical Devices Policy, 2023, on Wednesday (April 26), with an aim to grow the medical devices sector from the present $11 billion to $50 billion in the next five years, by facilitating the domestic production of the devices, enabling an ecosystem for manufacturing and innovation, and reducing the import of the equipment.

The policy also aims to accelerate the growth of the medical devices industry and has been introduced with the objective of increasing India’s share in the global market from the current 1.5 per cent to 12 per cent over the next 25 years.

Also Read: Examining Access To Healthcare For Rajasthan’s Kalbelia Community

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya took to Twitter confirming the approval of the policy.

Dr. Mandaviya, said that the policy will help bring together efforts for systematic development and expansion of the medical device sector.

The demand for medical devices in India has increased, especially after the coronavirus pandemic. So, to promote this industry, the government had sanctioned four medical parks last year. Currently, India imports 75 per cent of the medical devices. But this policy will help reduce imports and increase domestic manufacturing. The medical device policy is a comprehensive effort towards it.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the policy will boost the health sector and accelerate efforts to make India a leader in making and exporting medical devices.

According to the official statement,

The contribution of the sector has become even more prominent as India supports the domestic and global battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NATIONAL MEDICAL DEVICE POLICY:

  1. Under the policy, the government will create a “Single Window Clearance System’ for Licensing of Medical Devices for the ease of doing business.
  2. The strategy intends to enhance the role of agencies such as Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)in product manufacturing, processing, and even looking at its performance.
  3. The policy aims to upskill the professionals To have an adequate supply of skilled workforce in the medical device sector, including scientists, regulators, health experts, managers, technicians, etc.
  4. The policy will work towards developing partnerships with foreign academic and industry organisations.
  5. To strengthen the infrastructure, medical device parks and clusters equipped with world-class common infrastructure facilities, Research & Development (R&D) centres, Centres of Excellence in academic and research institutions, and innovation hubs are planned.
  6. A Medical Device Park is set to come up on an area of 350 acres in Sector 28 of the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority in Uttar Pradesh. So far, 59 plots have been allotted for Medical Device Park.

The Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) has expressed gratitude to the Centre for the policy, saying it was a long-awaited decision. Speaking to news agency ANI, Rajiv Nath, forum coordinator, AiMeD, said,

At AiMeD, we are delighted with the Cabinet’s decision to announce the Medical Devices Policy, which fulfils PM Narendra Modi and India’s aspirations of becoming Atmanirbhar Bharat and the top five suppliers of medical devices worldwide. This is a direction that we have been seeking for a long time. It’s a long-awaited decision.

Also Read: Government Tele-Mental Health Service Received 1 Lakh Calls Since Inception: Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ populationindigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (WaterSanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollutionwaste managementplastic banmanual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Exit mobile version