Experts participating in an interaction programme on indigenous ‘medical technology industry’ underlined India’s potential in the area but stressed the need for greater innovation.
The interaction programme was organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here on Wednesday.
Terri Bresenham, president and CEO, South Asia, GE Healthcare, was the key speaker.
A CII release said Ms. Bresenham enlightened the crowd mainly on building India’s own medical technology industry for the country’s self-sufficiency and better outcome in the area. She pointed out that India had great potential to grow in the field owing to its affordable healthcare, job opportunities, trade deficit and tax revenues.
However, it should work in the areas of innovation, supply chain management, quality, policy and management, she added.
She said the country should develop a self-sufficient ecosystem for medical technology, R&D, supplier base and manufacturing sector for high-quality devices and supplies and to reduce India’s dependency on imports.
Interacting with the audience, Ms. Bresenham also said that India needed to partner with academics and clinicians to increase medical technology research and support and reduce cost of medical technologies.
Vishwaprasad Alva, vice-chairman, CII Mysore and MD, Skanray Technologies, mentioned plans to transform Mysore into an ‘international health city’ and said it would have a tertiary care hospital, global elderly care facility, global telemedicine centre, nursing and paramedical institutes and affordable facilities for rural patients.
R.C. Jagadesh, chairman, CII Mysore & Director, Klueber Lubrication I Pvt. Ltd. urged Ms. Bresenham to consider future investments in Mysore and have more industry partnerships in Electronics System Design Manufacturing and medical equipment industries in Mysore. He said the city had sufficient talent pool.
Nearly 70 industrialists from Mysore participated in the interaction, said the release.
