Bhagwanth Khuba, Union Minister of State for Chemicals & Fertilizers presents India Pharma and India Medical Devices Awards 2022

NEW DELHI, 27 April 2022: “Indian medical device sector has huge potential, and we must focus on producing hi-end technical equipment and machinery in India through increased innovation, Research and Development,” Mr Bhagwanth Khuba, Union Minister of State for Chemicals & Fertilizers, stated at the 7th edition of International Conference on Pharma and Medical Devices sector 2022, organized by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Govt of India and FICCI, in the presence of Ms S Aparna, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals. The Union Minister of State along with the Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals also conferred India Pharma and India Medical Devices Awards 2022 on the occasion.

Four sessions were conducted today on different themes – Transforming Healthcare through innovation and integrated services, establishing patient-centered outcomes of care for promoting value-based procurement, Manufacturing, Demand & Global Supply chain of Medical Devices and Research and Development and Innovation in Medtech.

Addressing the event, Mr Bhagwanth Khuba, Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers said that under the visionary leadership of the Hon’ble Prime Minister we are progressing in every sector and are committed to provide speedy development to all. The Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices sector is a key sector of the global as well as Indian economy. We will become a 5 trillion-dollar economy as envisioned by the Hon’ble Prime Minister if we all work together, he added.

The Union Minister of State said that the Indian pharma and medical device sector has huge growth potential. We can not only cater to the needs of the domestic market but also manufacture for the world. “India has the capability of producing at low cost. We currently produce only 20 percent of these equipment in India and are import dependent. The government is committed to extend all support to the industry to ensure that the country becomes AtmaNirbhar in the sector. In the last eight years, the government has taken various initiatives to propel growth in the sector. India can achieve self-reliance in pharmaceuticals and medical devices only by strengthening its Research and Development infrastructure, which would drive expansion of access to life-saving medicines and position India as a global pharmaceuticals and medical devices export hub,” he added.

Mr Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog said that the Indian healthcare industry has been growing at a fast pace since 2016 and it is expected to reach close to $380 billion this year.  Inviting foreign investors to produce medical devices in India, Mr Kant stated, “If you develop and manufacture medical devices here, you are not producing only for India but for the world and the market is huge in size and scale. Healthcare along with the pharma and medical sector are India’s biggest job creators. India’s relative cost competitiveness and availability of skilled labour will make it a favoured destination also for the medical value tourism in the years to come.”

Ms S. Aparna, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Govt of India said that the medical device sector is a fast-growing sector and has rightly been identified as a sunrise sector. We have been able to extend support for this sector through a number of initiatives including the PLI scheme, 4 medical devices parks in Tamil Nadu, MP, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. She also informed that the Medical Device Policy is in the final stages of approval and it includes inputs from various stakeholders. She also congratulated all the award winners of the industry and urged them to work towards realising the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat in the Pharma and Medical devices Sector.

This year, the Department of Pharmaceuticals has announced six main categories of the India Pharma and India Medical Devices Awards in: -Leaders Category, Company of the year, MSME of the year, Start-ups of the year, Innovation Category, CSR Category. “This Award will act as a catalyst to improve the performance and quality of the Pharma and Medical Devices manufactured in the country,” Union Minister of State said this while congratulating and presenting the awards to the winners.