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NEW DELHI: India, for the first time, has become a net exporter of medical consumables and disposables, reversing the earlier trend where overseas shipments of products such as needles and catheters completely dominated the market.
The country exported consumables and disposables worth $1.6 billion, while it imported products worth only about $1.1 billion in 2022-23, Union pharma secretary Arunish Chawla said on Tuesday.Exports went up 16% compared with the previous fiscal, while imports fell 33%.
Govt is seeking to replicate this success in other segments too, such as surgical instruments and electronic equipment, so that there is lower dependence on imports, Chawla said on the sidelines of an event by his department & CII.
Govt’s push for reducing import dependence for key pharma products and devices got a major thrust post-Covid outbreak after China controlled supplies of everything from basic chemicals to PPEs and testing kits.
India is known as pharmacy of the world because of its generic medicines and low-cost vaccines. In the medical devices sector, however, the country remains heavily dependent on imports with nearly 70% of the products being sourced from other countries. China is among the major sources of imports.
Centre has further divided medical device sector into segments such as cancer therapy, imaging, critical care, assistive medical devices, body implants, surgical instruments and hospital equipment, consumables & disposables, and IVD instruments and reagents. The pharma secretary said deliberations are on to identify important medical devices from each segment, assess their import-export dynamics, examine duty structures, and their implications across the value chain.
“During Covid, demand for consumables and disposables increased tremendously which pushed the industry towards augmenting its manufacturing,” said Himanshu Baid, chairman of CII’s national medical technology forum.
The country exported consumables and disposables worth $1.6 billion, while it imported products worth only about $1.1 billion in 2022-23, Union pharma secretary Arunish Chawla said on Tuesday.Exports went up 16% compared with the previous fiscal, while imports fell 33%.
Govt is seeking to replicate this success in other segments too, such as surgical instruments and electronic equipment, so that there is lower dependence on imports, Chawla said on the sidelines of an event by his department & CII.
Govt’s push for reducing import dependence for key pharma products and devices got a major thrust post-Covid outbreak after China controlled supplies of everything from basic chemicals to PPEs and testing kits.
India is known as pharmacy of the world because of its generic medicines and low-cost vaccines. In the medical devices sector, however, the country remains heavily dependent on imports with nearly 70% of the products being sourced from other countries. China is among the major sources of imports.
Centre has further divided medical device sector into segments such as cancer therapy, imaging, critical care, assistive medical devices, body implants, surgical instruments and hospital equipment, consumables & disposables, and IVD instruments and reagents. The pharma secretary said deliberations are on to identify important medical devices from each segment, assess their import-export dynamics, examine duty structures, and their implications across the value chain.
“During Covid, demand for consumables and disposables increased tremendously which pushed the industry towards augmenting its manufacturing,” said Himanshu Baid, chairman of CII’s national medical technology forum.
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