Pulse
A healthcare update from GE
Edition - 1
Healthcare Sector Must Serve the World, Not Just India: Mansukh Mandavia
The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Chemicals and Fertilisers, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, has reiterated the government’s commitment to making India ‘Aatmanirbhar’ in manufacturing affordable medical devices and pharmaceuticals.
Delivering the inaugural address at the India Pharma 2022 and India Medical Device 2022, organised by the Department of Pharmaceuticals in association with Invest India and FICCI, the minister said the country has the capability to sell pharmaceutical products all over the world and also to treat people from all across the globe at healthcare facilities spread around the nation. “When we think about a roadmap for India’s healthcare sector for the next 25 years, it needs to be a comprehensive one to serve the world, not only India,” he said, adding: “We can take care of it in a holistic and comprehensive manner … we are brainstorming for that.” The minister described the government’s vision for the new healthcare ecosystem with two phrases: ‘Heal By India’ and ‘Heal in India’.
This global vision will be sustained by a robust healthcare sector, he said, praising the pharma sector for its response to the Covid-19 crisis and for making India’s vaccination programme a universally acknowledged success. At a time when the world was apprehensive about India’s ability to manage the Covid crisis, he said, “we showed how it can be done … we also proved it again by having a successful vaccination programme.”
Citing the government’s multiple initiatives to make healthcare more accessible and affordable, the minister said: “Medical colleges have doubled. The number of MBBS seats, which used to be in the range of 55,000, will go up to a lakh this year. Similarly, 1.17 lakh health and wellness centres have been established across the country. District hospitals are being strengthened and many more clones of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) are coming up for tertiary needs.” All these developments, he underlined, will expand the market for medical devices and pharmaceutical products. “We don’t just make policies on paper or just give lectures, but we make efforts to implement the policies,” he added.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers, Mr Bhagwanth Khuba, who was the Guest of Honour, said the country’s medical technology sector had the potential for growing from US$11 billion to US$50 billion by 2025. He said the industry must make efforts to reduce imports and develop the capability of stepping up manufacturing in the country. The focus on R&D and innovation are important for the country to achieve better growth in the next 25 years and the industry and other stakeholders can help create the roadmap to achieve this through brainstorming.
*The piece has been put together by GE based on publicly available sources
India needs a vibrant innovation ecosystem
Applauding the government’s impetus on medical devices manufacturing, Dr. Shyam Vasudevarao, FICCI Co-Chair of Medical Devices Committee, explains how startups can play a pivotal role in reducing import dependencies.
1. How do you see the PLI scheme supporting the medical device industry in India?
The Government has taken an important first step by rolling out the Production Linked Incentives (PLI) scheme to enable global companies to set up manufacturing units in the country and create an ecosystem of innovation. It now needs to bring startups into the ambit of the scheme because “they are the best options for innovations. The government has invested about 1000 cr, and if we take a leaf out of the PLI policy, one of the main points is about a single window clearance system. if we could also get a single window clearance system that would ease out a lot of our pain points.
2. How can India become a manufacturing hub for medical devices?
The biggest strength of India is the abundance of technical expertise available in the sector and growing startups in the healthcare space, the country also offers a huge market with respect to population. And as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare paradigm has moved from curative to preventive medicine. That has led to “a huge unmatchable demand” for preventive care. Each household now has personal medical devices- blood sugar monitor, BP monitor etc- there is tremendous scope and demand has only increased. One way of going global is supporting new manufacturers to scale up is incentivizing our standard strategy. It will be a practice only when the manufacturers will be incentivized to produce quality and not going to dirty competition and downside quality and pricing competition.
3. In your view, what should be India’s focus to go global?
Internet has shown us how well connected we are and how much information can travel and how small the world has become now. Similarly, in the perspective of medical device industry, innovation was going to happen across the ocean. I think standardization is a critical pillar for going global- If a device must be put for clinical use, it must meet a certain benchmark of standards. We should aim to get more recognition for Indian standards-for swift approval to reach global markets or we should tweak to accommodate international standards to become a global hub.
*The piece has been put together by GE based on publicly available sources
Wipro GE Healthcare’s MDM Facility to Bolster India’s Capacity to become Global Manufacturing Hub
Aligned to the national agenda of ‘Atmaanirbhar Bharat’ and to boost local manufacturing of medical devices in India, a leading global medical technology and digital solutions innovator, Wipro GE Healthcare, has set up a 35,000 sq. ft. greenfield manufacturing unit in Bengaluru. The plant, Wipro GE Medical Device Manufacturing (MDM), has been launched with an investment of a little over Rs 100 crore under the Government of India’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme. The majority of the fixtures and tools at the facility have been locally sourced to support the government’s ‘Vocal for Local’ movement. Most of the content for the CT scan manufactured at the facility is also locally sourced.
A 24/7 facility manufacturing CT machines, cathlab equipment, ultrasound scanners, patient monitoring solutions, ECG machines and ventilators, this 100 per cent subsidiary of Wipro GE Healthcare is equipped with automated testers to assess the performance of medical devices. The first of its kind plant, with all women employees, has 35 employees on its shop floor; the number is expected to increase to 100 in the next two or three years. MDM is GE’s fourth GE healthcare manufacturing unit in India.
*The piece has been put together by GE based on publicly available sources
“We congratulate Wipro GE Healthcare for its contribution towards boosting local manufacturing and generating employment in the local communities. Through our Karnataka Digital Economy Mission, we will provide continued support to the company’s efforts towards augmenting the ESDM sector and providing fillip to region’s digital economy.”
- C N Ashwath Narayan, Minister of Information Technology, Biotechnology, Higher Education, Science and Technology of Karnataka (Speaking at the launch of the plant)
“India is on an accelerated growth path in gaining global prominence for medical devices manufacturing. Wipro GE Healthcare’s new factory, with support from the government’s PLI Scheme, will aid the health ecosystem in the country realise its true potential in addressing local and global challenges for healthcare providers.”
- Azim Premji, Chairman, Wipro GE Healthcare, and Chairman, Wipro Enterprises
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