|
 The Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMED) has applauded the Government of India’s landmark decision to make the Export Promotion Council for Medical Devices (EPCMD) functional, with members being onboarded. This has been a long-standing demand of the industry.
The EPCMD was announced by the Centre in September, 2022 and established in May, 2023 under the aegis of Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) with the support of Department of Commerce and Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) under the Government of Uttar Pradesh.
However, the Council has been struggling to function in the past, with no proper leadership in position to spearhead the activities.
The Council has now been functioning under the leadership of Praveen Kumar Mittal, joined with the Council in September, 2024. He was earlier Assistant Director with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
Rajiv Nath, forum coordinator of AiMED, said, "This is a historic and proud moment for the Indian medical devices industry. The creation of EPCMD marks the fulfilment of an important request we have pursued for over a decade."
The formation of this dedicated council will act as a catalyst in transforming India into a global hub for medical device innovation, manufacturing, and exports and is expected to be the next biggest success story after IT & pharma.
"AiMeD looks forward to working closely with EPCMD to ensure this opportunity brings real growth, employment, and improved global health outcomes as well as work to diligently increase our exports so that they overtake our imports," said Nath.
Praveen Mittal, executive director, EPCMD, stated: "The medical devices sector has been identified as a sunrise sector and holds vast potential for innovation and economic growth. With the establishment of EPCMD, India now has a focused institutional mechanism to drive exports and boost domestic manufacturing."
"This initiative will play a vital role in helping India reach a USD 30 billion market size by 2030. Our mission is to take India-made, high-quality medical devices to global markets, enhance India's competitiveness, and contribute to improved global health standards," he added.
EPCMD is committed to supporting Indian manufacturers and unlocking new international trade opportunities for the sector, said Mittal.
AiMED reiterates its full support for this move and celebrates the government's commitment to nurturing innovation, promoting exports, and building a globally competitive medical devices industry.
“The government’s recognition of the need to establish such a body separate from pharmaceuticals was itself a significant victory for the industry as our strategic needs are different than the well established pharma industry," said Jatin Mahajan, managing director, Mitra Industries and secretary of Association of Diagnostic Manufacturers of India (ADMI).
As a fledgling organisation, that got manned recently, EPCMD has already delivered a couple of boundaries, strengthening the make-in-India initiative by assisting in seeking easier market access, guiding Department of Commerce in ongoing negotiating of trade agreements and communication of policy support needs of exporters, he added.
The Committee of Administration of the Council is headed by R S Kanwar, CMD of Allengers Medical Systems Ltd, Dr Arun Vir Singh, CEO of YEIDA as vice chairman, officials from the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Department of Commerce and ministry of health and family welfare, along with various industry representatives and industry association representatives from AiMeD, ADMI, MTaI, and Nathealth.
The medical devices exports are currently at over Rs. 31,672 crore ($3.7 billion) with a growth of 14 per cent over the previous year. The top five countries India currently exports medical devices are to USA, Germany, China, Netherlands and Brazil.
|
Tenders & Project