Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya
inaugurated the 7th edition of the International Conference on Pharma and Medical Devices sector 2022. The annual flagship three-day (25 to 27 April) conference is being held at Dr Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi.
Addressing the three-day event, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Chemicals and Fertilizers, said that the healthcare sector in India is becoming affordable and accessible for everyone due to the relentless efforts and leadership of our Hon’ble Prime Minister. The government has been working relentlessly to increase the number of doctors, medical institutions, and health infrastructure, including hospitals, tertiary care centres, and health and wellness centres in the country. “Conferences like India Pharma and India Medical Device 2022 provide a platform for industry, academia and policymakers to brainstorm and draft a plan for the next 25 years for the sector,” he added.
The Union Minister urged that under our prime minister’s leadership, the energy and brainpower of youth have been channelised. The youth of our country will propel India to greater heights in the future, and hence we should promote Industry- students collaboration. This will ensure the employability of our youth and provide skilled human resources to the industry. As we celebrate Azadi ka Amrit mahotsav, we need to assure ‘Sankalp se siddhi’. It is vital that we make a roadmap for a more fantastic future and set goals which will ensure the progress of the Nation.
The Union Minister congratulates the country’s Pharma industry on ensuring India’s successful fight against COVID-19. The Union Minister said that the way India has managed the COVID pandemic is a global case study. Today the entire world community is praising India’s efforts in carrying out the World’s largest vaccination drive. We have administered more than 187 crore doses in the country, which is commendable. When it comes to providing healthcare services, one should not think just for the nation but the whole world. ‘Seva’ should always come first. Our approach of thinking is of totality and not token, he added.
The Union Minister also said that we are witnessing the rise of a New India, and all stakeholders have to ensure that the Pharma sector also becomes a part of this growth.
“We are committed to two important aspects of the healthcare ecosystem- Heal in India and Heal by India”.
Speaking on occasion, Shri Bhagwanth Khuba, Union Minister of State of Chemicals and Fertilisers said that we need to focus on R&D and innovation to ensure quality, accessibility and affordability in the Indian pharma and medical device sector. India is the pharma hub globally, with our products being 5th globally. He added that the government is also working to provide industry-friendly policies and ease of doing business. Shri. Khuba further noted that the Indian medical device sector is currently standing at $11 billion and will likely reach $ 50 billion by 2025. He highlighted that over 80 per cent of medical devices are currently imported to India. With R&D and innovation, India will soon produce 80 per cent of medical devices in India.
Also Read: COVID-19 in India: Immense Role for HealthCare Field Workers
Smt. S. Aparna, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, while addressing the event, said that as India prepares for Amrit Kaal, it is a moment in time to redesign our aspiration in the pharmaceutical and medical device sector and take the global mantle of leadership. She further said a need to build an ecosystem for innovation in medical devices and drugs and enhanced industry-academia linkages. Highlighting various government initiatives to propel the growth of the Pharma sector, she added that under the PLI scheme, more than 22,000 crores have already been approved for bulk drugs, APIs etc.
At the inaugural ceremony, three knowledge documents- ‘Impact of the pharma industry on the Indian ecosystem in the post- COVID era’, ‘Enabling Growth and innovation in the Indian Medical Devices Sector’ and a ‘Compilation of important speeches by CEOs’ was also released by the Union Minister. In addition to this, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya also chaired two roundtable conferences with the Pharma and Medical Devices CEOs after the inaugural ceremony. At the conference, the Union Minister assured full support of the Government to the Pharma and medical devices sector and sought their feedback and help in preparing a roadmap for the next 25 years. Various issues pertaining to the Pharma and medical devices sector were discussed at the conference.
Dr. V.K. Paul, Member, NITI Aayog, Dr. Balram Bhargava, Director General, ICMR, senior officials from FICCI and Invest India and CEOs of various Pharma, and medical devices companies were also present at the conference.
About the 7th edition of India Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Conference 2022:
This year, India Pharma is planned around the theme: ‘India Pharma-Vision2047: Transformative agenda for future’. For India Medical Device, the theme is ‘Transforming Healthcare through Innovation & Integrated Services’. The discussions planned for 3 days will bring in new opportunities and ideas to make India the global leader in quality medicines and ensure the country’s availability, accessibility, and affordability of drugs and medical devices.
