Healthcare to Bolster Machine Tool Industry

India’s Healthcare sector has proved its mettle by emerging strong after a series of challenges last year posed for us. For it to continue in the same spirit, our Machine Tool industry has to up its game to cater to the sector’s demands and for the country to become self-reliant.

In the words of our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, last year was a trial by fire for India’s Healthcare sector but today the country is experiencing a new high as the world has taken note of its inherent strengths in battling the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The Government of India is advocating ‘Atma-nirbharta’ in the Healthcare sector with its budgetary allocation of `2,83,846 lakh crore for the Healthcare and Wellness sector, including `35,000 crore for Covid-19 vaccines. India’s ‘Atmanirbhar Swastha Bharat Yojana’ announced by the Government, with an outlay of `64,180 crore, aims to develop the country’s primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare over a period of six years.

As these developments take place, the spotlight is back on beefing up India’s Machine Tool industry to serve the demands of the Healthcare sector by manufacturing products locally. In a way, the pandemic has brought forth manufacturers’ abilities to the fore. Companies have responded collectively in building the equipment needed to combat the pandemic.

India, the vaccine capital

Businesses managed to establish a wide network of testing infrastructure and in its race to find a vaccine, the country emerged as a front runner and started exporting vaccines. Rightly so, India is now seen as a vaccine capital of the world.

It is widely accepted that the healthcare cost in India is significantly lower as compared to the developed nations. This is precisely why foreign nationals travel to India to avail affordable medical treatment. At the same time, the demand in healthcare facilities is also creating new opportunities. Technology, software development and design aptitudes are playing a larger role in taking manufacturing to the next level and creating demand for machine tools.

High precision and accuracy of equipment used for surgeries is vital for favorable results in treatment and quicker recovery rate of patients. India currently imports large volumes of medical instruments for critical care, imaging and high-end surgeries. This equipment, when manufactured indigenously, carries distinct advantages, primarily the affordability in the price-sensitive Indian market.

Plans in place

India has been a major market for medical devices and this is expected to increase with the Central Government’s initiatives like Ayushman Bharat, which aims to offer affordable healthcare services to all. Having realized the potential, the Government has charted out a roadmap for endorsing medical equipment manufacturing. It is laying out the red carpet for investors by enacting new rules and regulatory processes for ease of doing business, removing trade barriers and offering new solutions.

Medical device manufacturing parks are being set up in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. As these parks become fully functional, indigenous medical devices manufacturing will increase. This, coupled with the Government selectively enabling 100 percent FDI in medical devices manufacturing through automatic route, is expected to create opportunities for the Machine Tool industry.

IMTMA is advocating its member companies to seriously consider developing machine tools which could support the growth of the Medical Equipment industry as it has been identified as one of the champion sectors. As we scale up our efforts to strengthen the MSMEs, numerous job opportunities are likely to arise. IMTMA is organizing IMTEX 2021 in June this year which will be a grand opportunity for medical equipment manufacturers to acquaint themselves with the advancements in machine tools for the Medical industry.

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Source: Magic Wand Media

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