By: IPP Bureau
Last updated : April 26, 2022 7:19 am
The minister was speaking at the 7th International conference on Pharma and Medical Devices sector; chairs two roundtable conferences with the CEOs
Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated the 7th edition of the International conference on Pharma and Medical Devices sector 2022, which is scheduled from 25th to 27th April in the presence of Bhagwanth Khuba, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers and S Aparna, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals. The annual flagship three-day conference is being held at Dr Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi.
Addressing the event, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Chemicals and Fertilizers, said that the healthcare sector in India is becoming affordable and accessible for everyone due to the relentless efforts and leadership of our Hon’ble Prime Minister. The government has been working relentlessly to increase the number of doctors, medical institutions, health infrastructure including hospitals, tertiary care centres, and health and wellness centres in the country. “Conferences like India Pharma and India Medical Device 2022 provide a platform for industry, academia and policymakers to brainstorm and draft a plan for the next 25 years for the sector,” he added.
Congratulating the pharma industry of the country in ensuring India’s successful fight against Covid-19, the Union Minister said that the way India has managed Covid pandemic is a global case study.
The Union Minister also said that we are witnessing the rise of a New India and all stakeholders have to ensure that the pharma sector also becomes a part of this growth. “We are committed to two important aspects of the healthcare ecosystem- Heal in India and Heal by India”, he noted.
Speaking on the occasion Shri Bhagwanth Khuba, Union Minister of State of Chemicals and Fertilisers said that we need to focus on R&D and innovation to ensure quality, accessibility and affordability in the Indian pharma and medical device sector. India is the pharma hub in the world with our production being 5th in the world. The government is also working to provide industry-friendly policies along with ease of doing business, he added. Khuba further noted that the Indian medical device sector is currently standing at US $ 11 billion and is likely to reach US $ 50 billion by 2025. He highlighted that currently over 80 percent of medical devices are imported in India. With R&D, and innovation, India will soon produce 80 percent of medical devices in India.
S. Aparna, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals while addressing the event said that as India prepares for Amrit Kaal, it is a moment in time to redesign our aspiration in the pharmaceutical and medical device sector and take the global mantle of leadership. She further said that there is a need to build an ecosystem for innovation in medical devices and drugs along with enhanced industry-academia linkages. Highlighting various government initiatives to propel the growth of the pharma sector, she added that under the PLI scheme, more than Rs 22,000 crores have already been approved for bulk drugs, APIs etc.
At the inaugural ceremony, three knowledge documents- ‘Impact of the pharma industry on the Indian ecosystem in the post- Covid era’, ‘Enabling Growth and innovation in the Indian Medical Devices Sector’ and a ‘Compilation of important speeches by CEOs’ was also released by the Union Minister. In addition to this, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya also chaired two roundtable conferences with the Pharma and Medical Devices CEOs after the inaugural ceremony. In the conference, the Union Minister assured full support of the Government to the Pharma and medical devices sector and sought their feedback and support in preparing a roadmap for the next 25 years. Various issues pertaining to the Pharma and medical devices sector were discussed at the conference.