NITI Aayog explores policies to boost India's medical and dental device manufacturing industry

New Delhi: The NITI Aayog is exploring comprehensive policy interventions to boost domestic manufacturing of medical and dental devices in the country.

With a focus on addressing regulatory hurdles, infrastructure gaps and cost disadvantages faced by Indian manufacturers, the government's public policy think tank held a meeting on Wednesday with domestic devices and dental manufacturers, government officials from the departments of pharmaceuticals, health, science and technology, and the Indian Council of Medical Research, as well as experts from IIT Delhi and IIT Mumbai.

E-commerce platforms involved in the trade of dental devices and the Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) also participated in the meeting.

Chaired by NITI Aayog vice chairman Ashok Lahiri, the meeting focused on identifying key challenges in domestic manufacturing and exploring regulatory, infrastructural and fiscal interventions needed to strengthen India's medical and dental device industry.

The consultation also aimed to identify opportunities for collaboration between the government and industry, and to formulate recommendations aligned with the country's healthcare priorities.

In a presentation submitted to the Aayog, the AiMeD called for a dedicated law for medical devices, simpler regulatory approvals and financial support to help domestic manufacturers compete with imported products.

The industry body said Indian manufacturers face a 10-15% cost disadvantage due to high capital and energy costs, logistics expenses, limited access to risk capital and inadequate testing and research infrastructure.

It also flagged the increasing regulatory burden, noting that setting up a manufacturing facility, which previously took about 18 months, can now take nearly four years because of multiple approvals, overlapping authorities and changing requirements.