2021 and beyond

The year 2020 has been really difficult for us. As COVID-19 hit, all our resources were diverted toward providing beds to authorities to handle the pandemic. We saw some major upheavals this year in terms of attrition owing to staff migrating to their home towns etc. So, the coming year is going to be all about majorly focusing on recovery. We will have to emerge stronger and make up for all that we lost in 2020. But up until then, all plans for budgetary allocation for any kind of new purchases will have to be put on hold. We first need to gain our ground back and that will be our priority in 2021.

On investments planned by your group
The year 2020 has been very challenging. So there are limited plans for new ventures. Nonetheless, we do have plans for a post COVID care unit that is likely to be functional in 2021. Also, plans are in the offing for a state-of-the-art GI unit in the coming year. But one of major priorities will be hiring more nursing staff. We faced some crisis during this year as staff migrated to their hometowns immediately once The lockdown was declared.

On the health of the Indian MedTech and IVD business
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought in an eagerness in the Indian medical system to embrace the digital evolution and healthcare facilities. There has been mass production of innovative medical products along with awareness of diagnosis and diagnostic tests that will help improve the quality of health in the future. For now, we seem to be doing good in the diagnostic segment. But we need to invest in some robust infrastructure that is technology-oriented to benefit the medical device industry. The IVD industry is growing and is expected to record good growth in the coming year. This year, COVID related products added `7300 crore. Non-COVID routine diagnostics products went down, but the surge in COVID tests and large production of indigenous products will make up for the loss in the coming year.

Plans for 2021
Major investment plans have been put on hold and the focus is more on recovery in 2021.

On policy changes required from the government (or on schemes announced as Ayushman Bharat, Atmanirbhar Bharat etc).

India needs more investments in an overarching public health infrastructure. Deaths from contagious diseases in India are much higher than the global average. Lack of strong healthcare resources is another challenge in India. At 3.6 percent of GDP, India’s overall health spending is among the lowest compared with other economies. Of this, government spending on health accounts for a very low 1 percent. The Health Management Information System (HMIS), which was supposed to plug some of the data gaps is not performing too well. After the COVID-19 crisis, India will need to focus more an strengthening its healthcare system to promote health for all. Our resilience to future pandemics will depend on that.

On the healthcare industry in India vis-à-vis the global market
In terms of access and quality of health services, India has been ranked 145 out of 195 countries even below countries like Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. India’s general government expenditure on healthcare as a per cent of GDP was just 1.0 percent in 2017, according to WHO data, placing it at number 165 out of 186 countries in terms of government expenditure on healthcare. The improvements in, health systems in India were not uniform in comparison with other developing countries with India lagging behind others in ramping up public health systems.

On COVID vaccine and testing
According to some data, India could be one of the top COVID-19 vaccine buyers. Virologists say that the problem will not be vaccine doses, but the ability to deliver them. Some sections of healthcare workers may be immunised in the next few months, as well as some ‘first responder’ people at high occupational risk of infection. But there is still time for that. Of course, the news of the vaccine is enough for us to remain positive. In the meantime, we need to continue to socially distance, wear masks, and sanitise.