Govt gives go-ahead for 4 medical device parks
The parks will be set up in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, sources said, adding that Uttarakhand and Gujarat have also approached the Centre for such parks.
The government has given its approval for setting up four medical device parks with a view to support the ‘Make in India’ initiative and provide world-class and affordable products for treatment.
The four parks will be set up in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, sources said, adding that Uttarakhand and Gujarat have also approached the Centre for a go-ahead for setting up such parks.
These parks will provide the necessary infrastructure for companies to easily plug and play, the sources said.
This will not only cut the import bill, but will also help with easy access to standard testing facilities and reduce the cost of production, they said.
The Andhra Pradesh Medtech Zone project for creating a Common Facility Centre (CFC) for Superconducting Magnetic Coil Testing and Research was given in-principle approval, recently.
The scheme proposes to provide Rs 25 crore or 70 percent of the project cost of setting up CFCs, whichever is less, for creation of common facilities in any upcoming park.
According to estimates, the medical devices retail market in the country is of about Rs 70,000 crore. The domestic medical devices industry is very small, even though India is the fourth-largest market in Asia.
India is largely an importer of medical devices, with the domestic industry accounting for about 2 percent of the global industry which stands at $250 billion, according to estimates.
Device startups include Kochi-based Bagmo Technologies, which addresses the lack of blood availability often leading to death during pregnancy in rural India. It has developed a blood-bag monitoring device, Bagmo, which monitors the temperature of blood bags during transportation and storage.
Bengaluru-based Inito offers a homecare device that helps users monitor health metrics, suggests proactive lifestyle changes, and puts them in control of their health.
There also is Prantae Solutions, a Bhubaneshwar-based biotech startup born out of Founder Sumona Karjee Mishra’s experience of suffering from the pregnancy disorder of pre-eclampsia. The startup develops devices and diagnostic solutions, primarily for pregnancy-related healthcare.
(Disclaimer: Additional background information has been added to this PTI copy for context)
(Edited by Athirupa Geetha Manichandar)
