The Indian government is aiming to make the domestic medical device industry self-reliant in the long run. Hence, it has rolled out various schemes to strengthen the medical device industry in India. These schemes align with the India’s vision of becoming a global manufacturing hub for medical devices. Moreover, various advances have been made in the medical devices being manufactured in India. Thus, locally manufacturing medical devices will make high-quality and advanced devices affordable and accessible to many patients in India. The focus is to reduce import reliance and boost domestic manufacturing.

Medical devices have a vital role in diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of diseases. Also, it is important the devices perform as intended to administer effective treatment. However, a large segment of patients in India cannot receive proper treatment, as they cannot afford expensive imported medical devices. By locally manufacturing medical devices, the government wants to make advanced and high-quality devices affordable and accessible to most patients in India. This will not only improve the medical device industry but also improve the healthcare sector, thereby improve the public health.

New scheme for promoting the domestic medical device industry

In addition to the existing efforts, the government is planning to launch a new scheme to boost the Indian domestic medical device industry. The scheme has been formulated after extensive consultation with industry experts and various stakeholders. The main focus of this new scheme is to make the domestic medical device industry self-reliant and reduce the import reliance of this sector.  This government initiative is focused on leveraging India’s expertise in the medical device sector and improving the domestic manufacturing facilities.

Moreover, the government has already taken various steps to create a conducive regulatory environment and promote R&D initiatives. The aim is to foster innovation in the Indian medical devices sector. Thus, by promoting R&D in this field, the government can also improve the quality of medical devices being developed and manufactured in India.

Additionally, last April, the Union Cabinet had approved the National Medical Devices Policy. It is expected to help the Indian medical devices sector considerably grow over the next 5 years. The aim of this policy is to promote domestic production and decrease medical device import reliance.

Hence, the government is taking multiple initiatives to boost home-grown affordable medical devices. This will considerably reduce the import dependence of the Indian medical device sector.

Segments of the medical device sector to get special attention

The government is planning to target the following key segments of the medical device industry:

• Surgical instruments and hospital equipment
• Cancer therapy
• Body implants
• Consumables and disposables
• In-vitro diagnostic instruments and reagents
• Imaging devices
• Assistive medical devices

The government is planning to improve the quality of the domestically manufactured medical devices to increase their exportability. The devices mainly exported by India are masks, catheters, syringes, gloves, and imaging equipment, such as X-ray and ultrasound machines. Furthermore, the centre has launched multiple production linked incentive (PLI) schemes to support the domestic medical device industry. Additionally, four medical device parks will be set up in Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh to improve the medical device manufacturing infrastructure in India.

As the government is planning to promote the domestic medical device industry, new business avenues will open for local manufacturers. However, to set up your medical device manufacturing business in India, you will need a CDSCO medical device manufacturing license. For securing the medical device manufacturing license, you need to understand the CDSCO regulatory guidelines. CDSCO regulatory guidelines are complicated and difficult to comprehend. We at Pharmadocx Consultants have extensive knowledge of the CDSCO regulatory guidelines. With support from our experts, you can secure the CDSCO medical device manufacturing license in a seamless manner. Drop an email at [email protected] or call/Whatsapp on 9996859227 and we will help you get started.