Integration of various regulatory agencies with a single-window system and putting in place a transparent, stable, predictable and easy to navigate interface.

The critical need for integration of various regulatory agencies with a single-window system says S. Aparna, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers speaking at the inaugural session of Medical Devices Expo 2021.

"The critical need for integration of various regulatory agencies with a single-window system and putting in place a transparent, stable, predictable and easy to navigate interface between investors, manufactures, exporters and the regulatory eco-system," added S. Aparna.
Growing at an accelerated pace in pandemic times and projected to become a US $65 billion industry by 2024, the medical devices sector offers a big opportunity for domestic players, especially engineering MSMEs to make deep inroads into global markets.

S. Aparna emphasized that innovation, adoption and adaptation of new technologies would be key to tap the huge opportunities in both domestic and export markets.

"It is important to remember that this is an interdisciplinary sector with a huge range of products covering reagents, diagnostic kits, high-end imaging equipment and therefore it is a sector that requires a very nuanced approach," said Aparna.
As India added sizable production capacity for various critical care items like PPE kits, surgical gloves, sanitizers and N95 masks has emerged as an important destination for manufacturing healthcare engineering products and services.

In his inaugural address, Mahesh Desai, Chairman, EEPC India said, "The medical device industry in India consists of large MNCs as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs) growing at an unprecedented scale. It is poised for significant growth in the next five years."

Indian medical device market is the fourth largest in Asia after Japan, China and South Korea. It has, however, potential to overtake some of its peers in size and scale given the government support it has been receiving over the last few years.

“COVID-19 pandemic has pushed us further on the track of strengthening our medical devices industry and India has appropriately risen up to the cause,” said Arun Kumar Garodia, Vice Chairman, EEPC India.

The Indian healthcare sector has been growing at a brisk pace due to its strengthening coverage, services and increasing expenditure by public as well as private players. It remains very cost-competitive compared to its peers in Asia and Western countries.