Context: The government is planning to set up a National Medical Devices Promotion Council under the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The announcement was made on the occasion of 4th WHO Global Forum on Medical Devices at Andhra Pradesh Medtech Zone in Vishakhapatnam.

National Medical Devices Promotion Council:

• The Council will be headed by Secretary of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
• Apart from the concerned departments of Government, it will also have representatives from health care industry and quality control institutions.
• The Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone of Visakhapatnam, will provide technical support to the Council.

The Prime objectives of the National Medical Devices Promotion Council are:

• Act as a facilitating, promotional & developmental body for the Indian Medical Devices Industry (MDI).
• Render technical assistance to the agencies and departments concerned to simplify the approval processes for MDI promotion and development.
• Enable entry of emerging interventions and support certifications for manufacturers to reach levels of global trade norms and lead India to an export driven market in the sector.
• Support dissemination and documentation of international norms and standards for medical devices by capturing the best practices in the global market.
• Facilitate domestic manufacturers to rise to international level of understanding of regulatory and non regulatory needs of the industry.
• Drive a robust and dynamic Preferential Market Access (PMA) policy by identifying the strengths of the Indian manufacturers and discouraging unfair trade practices in imports
• Ensure pro-active monitoring of public procurement notices across India to ensure compliance with PMA guidelines of DIPP and DoP.
• Undertake validation of Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) and other such entities within MDI sector, which add value to the industry strength in manufacturing to gain foothold for new entrants.
• Make recommendations to government based on industry feedback and global practices on policy and process interventions to strengthen the medical technology sector.

Significance:

• The Medical Devices Industry (MDI) plays a critical role in the healthcare ecosystem and is crucial to achieve the goal of health for all citizens of the country. The manufacturing and trade in MDI is growing steadily in double digits. However, it is largely import-driven with imports accounting for over 65 percent of the domestic market.
• The setting-up of the Council will spur domestic manufacturing in this sector as Indian companies and startups have stated moving towards creating innovative products.