Context: Recently, the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare launched MedTech Mitra portal.

MedTech Mitra

• It is a platform that will help the country’s young talents by supporting and giving them a final shape to their research, knowledge, and logic and help them get regulatory approval.

• It is an online portal for med-tech startups. The platform aims to assist medtech innovators in clinical evaluation, regulatory facilitation, and uptake of new products.

• The portal will be coordinated collaboratively by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), under the guidance of NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission.

• India’s med-tech sector is import-dependent, with imports accounting for up to 80 per cent in some cases.

• The launch of a separate portal for medtech startups comes months after the government launched the National Medical Device Policy and a scheme worth Rs 5,000 crore to promote research in the pharma and medtech sectors.

• According to industry figures, India accounts for only 1.5 per cent of the global medical devices market. India is currently Asia’s fourth-largest medical equipment manufacturer while having an 8 per cent share in the global medtech research and development workforce.

Significance

• The new initiatives would facilitate indigenous development of affordable, quality MedTech devices and diagnostics, leading to a considerable reduction in the import dependence of this sector.

• It will ensure ease of innovation and doing R&D for emerging start-ups.

• It would provide end-to-end guidance to startups, making their journey from idea to product smooth. The platform will also help them bridge gaps and help in animal as well as clinical trials.

• It would also foster partnerships between engineers, scientists and clinicians, which was lacking in the sector.