How the industry will pan out over the next couple of years

India’s MedTech market was valued at USD 10 billion in 2014 and is predicted to reach USD 50 billion by 2025. This is due in part to India’s rising income levels, increased private sector investment in healthcare, an aging population, a thriving medical tourism business, and government incentives in the MedTech sector. All of these reasons make India a highly appealing market for multinational businesses. It is vital to successfully deploy MedTech to narrow India’s enormous gap between demand and supply of healthcare services. The Indian MedTech sector is still in its early stages, with the majority of local manufacture limited to medical consumables.

Government policy and regulatory scenario
As part of the Make in India effort, India aims to increase its MedTech self-sufficiency. The rapidly developing sector provides enormous opportunity for global firms. India is about to experience an epidemiological transformation. There is a significant change in the health burden from communicable to non-communicable illnesses, which is driving important medical technology categories. There is a desire for both cutting-edge accuracy and low-cost technology.

Alignment with global standards is critical for increasing worldwide market acceptance and streamlining export processes. India’s big and developing healthcare sector has substantial opportunities for medical products. The country benefits from strong infrastructure and R&D. The Indian medical devices industry relies significantly on consistent quality standards and regulatory compliance. To enhance competitiveness, India should harmonize with international norms in manufacturing and innovation.

Challenges
Medical equipment companies continue to face challenges. Startups, in particular, face several obstacles since investors are hesitant to invest in medical devices companies. In the beginning phases of the bureaucratic procedure, you must navigate various government offices. While progress has been made in the last decade, much more need to be done.

In the post-Covid age, there is a considerable worldwide drive for harmonized regulatory standards, with India emerging as a key actor. Free trade agreements and increased bilateral partnerships with Japan, the United Kingdom, ASEAN nations, South Korea, and the BRICS are lowering our reliance on imported goods and placing India as a worldwide hub for medical devices manufacture. The priorities are clear-health research, innovation, public health security, and regulatory alignment.

Road ahead
Policymakers in India will need to develop an action plan to lessen the country’s reliance on medical devices/technology imports.

According to a recent estimate from a renowned industry group, India is expected to become self-sufficient in medical devices production by 2025-26. To improve the overall growth of India’s domestic medical devices industry, the government is implementing supporting measures, such as fostering indigenous manufacture of high-tech medical equipment, production-linked incentive schemes (PLIs) on medical devices, promoting new medical device parks, and so on.