India can lead with distinctive model for the world, says Minister
Minister of State for Science & Technology Dr Jitendra Singh has underscored the need to scale domestic manufacturing, accelerate regulatory enablement and deepen digital health adoption to ensure equitable access for all.
He highlighted the transformative role of medical technology in making healthcare more accessible, affordable and quality-driven, while advancing innovation, indigenous manufacturing, digital health and equitable healthcare delivery across India.
Addressing 18th CII Global MedTech Summit held on 21 Aug in New Delhi in partnership with the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Dr Singh said, “India has an opportunity to address two challenges at once — pushing the boundaries of healthcare and ensuring those breakthroughs reach every citizen affordably.
“This is where India can lead with a distinctive model for the rest of the world. High quality, high technology and high impact – all at a cost that people can afford.”
He noted that India’s MedTech sector is projected to reach US$20 billion by 2030, representing an opportunity to build India into a global hub for medical technology, innovation and manufacturing. “Our ambition must move beyond being a large consumer market to being something more than that,” he said.
More than 96.43 crore Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts have been created, with over 5.47 lakh health facilities and over 10.50 lakh health care professionals registered under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission as of Aug 2026.
“The next step is to create and ensure that medical technologies integrate seamlessly with the digital ecosystem. The combined power of MedTech, digital health, AI, and interoperable health data can transform how healthcare is delivered and make it more accessible across the country,” said the Minister.
“India’s next healthcare breakthrough will come from collaboration, and for this, the Government, Industry, and academia must build together from startups to hospitals, from labs to market, and accelerate innovation to reach every patient of this country. Together we can make India a global MedTech leader,” he elaborated.
Manoj Joshi, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, told the Summit that the products need to be tested at the manufacturing stage, for which the regulations need to be set right. India’s industrial capacity, adherence to standards, and technology & excellence standards are different from the regulatory designs of Europe’s third-party certification approach and the US’s in-house model; therefore, our regulatory system for medical devices needs to be different, a “sui generis” architecture, he said.
Joshi further added that the Government plans to redesign the next round of PLI schemes for greater domestic value addition, raising the bar for existing beneficiaries from low initial value-addition levels to 40-45%, while allowing new entrants making products not currently manufactured in India to start with no value-addition requirement.
Dr M Srinivas, Member Health, NITI Aayog, reiterated that, “MedTech is not just an Industry, it is a strategic pillar for healthcare.” And hence, he called for stronger Industry-academia partnerships to build quality-assured, high-value equipment, which are life-saving. He underlined that unity between global and domestic players is required, urging Industry to have a Team India approach.
He emphasised investing in R&D for India to become the innovators of the world. He added that any future ambition must come with specifics.
Addressing the Summit, Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, Drugs Controller General (India), Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said that MedTech Mitra, a collaboration between ICMR and CDSCO under the guidance of NITI Aayog, has received more than 850 applications.
This model has given a signal that more platforms for de-bottlenecking and addressing issues, are needed, he said, adding that the Industry needs to focus on taking advanced medical devices to rural areas, calling this “the real win of the digital health space”.
“It is not only India, but we are also working for the world. And India is in a very advantageous position where we can test the models of supporting public health, which can be extended to the whole world,” he said.
Aman Sharma, Joint Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, pointed out that India’s medical device regulatory capacity needs to be strengthened to enable the growth of the sector.
Calling for a robust domestic testing ecosystem, he said, the safety and performance of medical devices are very important, and for that, all the testing facilities, as per testing protocols, have to be available within the country, adding that Indian manufacturers currently face cost hurdles in getting tests done abroad. He emphasised the need for a clear roadmap, in the coming years, on which tests are going to become mandatory.
Shishir Agarwal, Chairman, CII National Medical Technology Forum & President and Managing Director, Terumo India, said the next phase of growth will require India to move from manufacturing scale toward “innovating, designing, developing, and scaling up our exports from India,” outlining three key shifts. Moving from regulatory complexity to greater predictability, creating a shift from a manufacturing-led to an innovation-led competitiveness, bringing Industry, academia, startups, and R&D centres closer together to build products.
Gaurav Agarwal, Co – Chairman, CII National Medical Technology Forum and Managing Director, Innvolution Healthcare Pvt Ltd remarked that the vision for MedTech 3.0 is 2031, which is a very significant year for the global MedTech. Fiinews.com
