Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog hosted the 20th Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting of the MedTech Mitra initiative, followed by the launch of the 6th edition of its innovation coffee table book series ‘Innovations for You’ focused on Life Sciences and Biotechnology.

Launched on December 25, 2023, jointly by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) under the guidance of NITI Aayog, the MedTech Mitra initiative aims to empower MedTech innovators and advance healthcare solutions by providing crucial support for clinical evaluation, regulatory facilitation, and the uptake of new products.

Since its launch, the MedTech Mitra portal has received an overwhelming response from innovators across the country. In order to address the queries received on the portal and to provide strategic holistic handholding support to MedTech innovators, 20 Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meetings of ‘MedTech Mitra’ have been held at ICMR, CDSCO and NITI Aayog wherein, innovators were invited by ICMR-Medical Device and Diagnostics Mission Secretariat (MDMS) to make presentation before senior officials from the MedTech Mitra knowledge partner organizations including CDSCO, AIM-NITI Aayog, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), ICMR-Indian Clinical Trial & Education Network (INTENT), Kalam Institute of Health & Technology, (KIHT)/ Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone (AMTZ), DHR-Health Technology Assessment in India (HTAIn), DHR-Centre for Guidelines, National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC), Government e-Marketplace (GeM), and Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) & ICMR-MDMS.

To streamline the process, operational Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs) have been established to define stakeholder roles and responsibilities.  

The 20th TAC meeting is a continuation of MedTech Mitra’s commitment to offer strategic and holistic support. The journey of MedTech Mitra was presented by ICMR-MDMS highlighting the steps taken to strengthen the ecosystem further by expanding the scope to all healthcare innovations & inclusion of other relevant stakeholders. The detailed presentation also mentioned the progress made on taking technologies to the next level and positive feedback received from innovators expressing their satisfaction on query resolution and technical guidance received from knowledge partners.

The event was graced by Dr. V. K. Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog; Dr. Rajiv Bahl, Secretary DHR and DG, ICMR; Anu Nagar, Joint Secretary, DHR; Dr. Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, DCGI, CDSCO; Dr Chintan Vaishnav, Mission Director, AIM-NITI Aayog; Surender Mehra, Programmer Director (S&T), NITI Aayog; and other distinguished members from MedTech Mitra’s knowledge partners, including ICMR- INTENT Network, ICMR- MDMS, CDSCO, AIM-NITI Aayog, BIS, KIHT/AMTZ, DHR- HTAIn, DHR-Centre for Guidelines, NHSRC, GeM and AERB. This meeting was a productive session focused on reviewing the progress made so far and advancing the initiative further by strategic discussions with all stakeholders involved.