National Medical Devices Policy 2023: Cabinet's Move to Empower India’s Medical Device Sector

In order to boost the pharmaceutical industry, the Cabinet has ratified the National Medical Devices Policy 2023.

This unique policy is designed to help in reducing imports by aiding Indian manufacturers in multiplying production capacity. According to the Central government data, around 75% of the medical devices sector is dependent on imports. In its official gazette, the Department of Pharmaceuticals stated that in 2020 the market size of India’s medical devices sector was approximately $11 billion (approximately, ₹ 90,000 Cr), which is around 1.5% of the global medical device market. Information & Broadcasting minister, Anurag Thakur, informed, “The government’s target is to take it to around 12% in the next 25 years”.

Need, Vision, and Mission of National Medical Devices Policy

While mentioning the need for the National Medical Devices Policy, the official gazette notified that this policy has been sanctioned to ‘facilitate orderly growth of the medical device sector to meet the public health objectives of access, affordability, quality and innovation’. The policy, which supports domestic investments and the manufacture of medical devices, is also in line with two of the most important initiatives of the government, ‘Make in India’  as well as ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. 

While the government envisions achieving a 10-12% stake in the global market to put India at the global forefront in the innovation and production of medical devices by 2048, it also sets an ambitious goal to serve the needs of the domestic as well as the global markets. Based on the current issues faced as well as the futuristic opportunities of the medical device sector, the government has framed a set of six strategies, which are Regulatory Streamlining, Enabling Infrastructure, Facilitating Research & Development and Innovation, Attracting investments in the Sector, Human Resources Development and lastly, Brand positioning and Awareness Creation. A proper monitoring and evaluation system has also been established to assess the impact of the strategies suggested under the National Medical Devices Policy.

Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) Forum Coordinator Rajiv Nath expressed his views, stating, “We are more than hopeful that the policy details will help boost local manufacturing, help traders and importers to start investing in putting up factories and end the 70-80% import dependency forced upon India and the ever-rising import bill which last year shot up by a steep 41% to over ₹63000 Cr and make quality healthcare accessible and affordable for common masses worldwide”.

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