With an aim to enhance foreign investments and boost domestic manufacturing, the Government is likely to relax the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy for the cash-starved medical devices sector. An inter-ministerial panel includes members from ministries such as Commerce and Industry Ministry, Finance Ministry, the Health and Family Welfare Ministry and the Department of Pharmaceuticals are discussing views on the issue of FDI in medical devices sector.
FDI in medical devices sector is permitted through government-approval route, however the industry has been demanding that FDI should be put under the automatic route. India badly needs foreign investments in medical devices and equipment sector.
Industry is of the view that the domestic companies are not competitive as global firms and not big like drug firms and thus there is no threat of mergers and acquisitions from multi-national firms.
Medical devices include wide range of products such as implants sutures and surgical instruments. The present market size of the industry stands at around $7 billion. As per estimates, India imports about 70 percent of its requirement of medical devices. The industry size is about $7 billion in the country.