The National Medical Devices Policy, 2023, was authorised by the Union Cabinet, which was chaired by the Hon’ble Prime Minister.
2023 National Medical Device Policy
- The Policy 2023 intends to promote the orderly growth of the medical device sector in order to satisfy public health objectives such as access, affordability, quality, and innovation.
- The policy puts out a strategy for accelerating the growth of the medical device sector in order to achieve numerous purposes.
Objectives
- The policy is intended to make the industry more competitive, self-sufficient, robust, and inventive.
- It aims to fulfil the healthcare requirements of the entire world, not just India.
- Its goal is to boost the expansion of the medical device industry.
- To satisfy patients’ changing healthcare requirements, a patient-centered strategy is required.
- It assists and directs the medical device sector in achieving these objectives.
Medical Device Promotional Strategies
A set of strategies covering six key areas of governmental action will facilitate and guide the medical device sector:
| Key measures and actions | |
| 1. Regulatory Streamlining | Improve the convenience of performing research and business, combine patient safety with product innovation, establish a Single Window Clearance System for medical device licencing, strengthen the role of Indian Standards such as BIS, and build a consistent pricing regulation. |
| 2. Enabling Infrastructure | Create and strengthen big medical device parks and clusters with world-class shared infrastructure facilities near economic zones with the necessary logistics connectivity. |
| 3. Facilitating R&D and Innovation | Promote R&D in India through establishing centres of excellence in academic and research institutions, innovation centres, and startup support. |
| 4. Attracting Investments in the Sector | Encourage private investments, venture capital funding, and public-private partnerships, in addition to existing programmes and interventions such as Make in India, Ayushman Bharat, Heal-in-India, and the Start-up Mission. |
| 5. Human Resources Development | Ensure a steady supply of skilled workforce across the value chain by leveraging available resources in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, supporting dedicated multidisciplinary courses for medical devices in existing institutions, and developing medical technology partnerships with foreign academic/industry organisations. |
| 6. Brand Positioning and Awareness Creation | Create a dedicated Export Promotion Council for the sector within the Department, initiate studies and projects to learn from best global manufacturing and skilling practises, promote more forums to bring together various stakeholders for knowledge sharing, and build strong networks across the sector. |
A quick recap of the Indian medical device industry
- In India, the medical devices sector is a significant and integral aspect of the Indian healthcare sector.
- Through large-scale production of medical devices and diagnostic kits, the sector has made significant contributions to the domestic and global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
India’s growth potential
- The medical devices sector in India is expected to be worth $11 billion (roughly 90,000 Cr) in 2020, with a 1.5% share of the worldwide medical device market.
- The Indian medical device industry has immense potential to achieve self-sufficiency and contribute to the aim of universal health care.
Initiatives currently underway in this field
- The PLI Scheme for medical equipment has been launched by the Government of India.
- It supports the establishment of four medical device parks in Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh.
Source: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1919984