- Medical devices amount to 30-40% capital cost of setting up of tertiary care hospital
- Global medical devices and technology market is expected to grow to USD 520 billion from an estimated USD 3.7 billion in 2014
- Domestic manufacturing of medical devices will make health care affordable and overhaul the jobs market in India
Accessibility, affordability and quality of the Indian health care system are always disproportionate to each other. In India, marginal communities and rural population are at the mercy of scarce medical resources, and they end up compromising on one for the other. For the less privileged, expecting quality healthcare without burning a hole in the pocket is still a pipe dream in modern India.
Indian health care system has been a sore point for many years, consistently downplaying the public healthcare crisis and functioning on budget cuts. The public healthcare system in the country, in the states and centre, was only about 1.3% of GDP, staggeringly bleak for a population of 136.64 crores. The figures look dismal when compared to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD) countries’ average of 7.6% and other BRICS countries’ – Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa – an average of 3.6%.
However, the Indian Government in 2021 resolved to do away with the shoddy healthcare scenario by increasing the spending on public health by 137% and providing inducements for local production of medical devices. With policy and schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana and National Health Mission, the Indian healthcare facilities might as well improve in the recent future.
Make in India: Importance of Local Manufacturing
The government’s nod to several medical devices manufacturers under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme will promote domestic manufacturing. Medical devices play a significant role in modern medical treatments, due to which affordability of such machine intensive treatments should be made generalized.
Medical devices are used not only in screening, diagnosing and treating patients but also in restoring them to normalcy and in regularly monitoring health indicators to prevent diseases. Medical technology is consequential to healthcare delivery costs. 30-40% of capital costs of setting up a tertiary care hospital are attributable to medical technology. Additionally, depending on the hospital type, the cost of medical devices and diagnostics contribute approximately 20 – 25% to the cost of medical services.
A sector responsible to uphold the right to health, Article 21, Constitution of India, however, has not been paid significant attention till the recent years.
The global medical devices and technology market is expected to grow to USD 520 billion from an estimated USD 3.7 billion in 2014. The opportunity in this sector is significant if the local manufacturing spirit can be induced and inspired. Most recent studies indicate that medical devices are expected to culminate into USD25-30 billion industry in India by 2025.
Local Manufacturing of medical devices is foreseeable
The current framework of the medical industry is set to change. For the promotion of domestic manufacturing, the government has approved applications from several medical devices manufacturers under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.
Under initiatives such as Make in India, several state governments have taken up the responsibility of setting up medical device manufacturing park in their respective states with approval from the Government of India. Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Sikkim is set to be medical device production hubs. These clusters would provide a huge boost to domestic manufacturing of high-end medical devices at a lower cost and besides overhauling the jobs market in India.
Companies like Siemens Healthcare, Sahajanand Medical Technologies, Nipro India Corporation and Wipro GE Healthcare are already setting up manufacturing plants. These plants would lead to an investment of Rs 729.63 crore by the companies and are estimated to generate employment for about 2,304 persons. Commercial production is projected to commence in April 2022. These plants would be a huge step towards making India self-reliant in the production of medical devices and rendering healthcare accessible to all.
Segments targeted under the scheme are cancer care/radiotherapy medical devices (both ionizing and non-ionizing radiation products) and nuclear imaging devices, anaesthetics and cardio-respiratory medical devices including catheters of Cardio-Respiratory Category & Renal Care Medical Devices and all implants including implantable electronic devices like Cochlear Implants and Pacemakers.
