Wipro GE Healthcare, a leading global medical technology, pharmaceutical diagnostics, and digital solutions innovator, on Tuesday announced an investment of over ₹8,000 crore in manufacturing output and local R&D in the next five years in India.
Azim Premji, Chairman, Wipro GE Healthcare, Chairman, Wipro Enterprises and Chairman Azim Premji Foundation, said, ‘‘India is riding the resurgent growth in the healthcare industry and rapidly expanding MedTech sector. Wipro GE Healthcare has been committed to the localisation journey for over three decades and this strategic investment is a testament to our vision for this sector.”
This strategic investment would bolster Wipro GE Healthcare’s local manufacturing footprint to address the growing domestic and international markets and would build supply chain resiliency for the company. Aimed at building India’s position as the key innovation and manufacturing hub for MedTech, Wipro would manufacture PET CT, CT & MR Coils ‘In India, for the World’.
As a part of this investment, the Wipro GE Healthcare ‘Made in India’ PET CT Discovery IQ will be exported to 15 countries. Additionally, the ‘Made in India’ Revolution Aspire CT, Revolution ACT and MR breast coils will be manufactured ‘In India for the World.’
Peter J. Arduini, President and CEO, GE HealthCare said, “India is a high potential, high priority market for GE HealthCare globally. In fact, we are among the first MedTech companies to ‘Make in India - for India and the World’. We will continue to invest in expanding India’s domestic capabilities and its global footprint in MedTech manufacturing and R&D. Today’s announcement is aligned with our strategic vision to deliver precision innovation globally and accelerate India’s position as ‘MedTech innovation and manufacturing hub for India and for world markets.”
According to the company, India is among the top 20 global markets for medical devices in the world. Wipro GE Healthcare is among the first MedTech companies to ‘Make in India - for India and the world’ over the past three decades, investing upwards of over $4 billion in R&D and manufacturing output in India since then. Over the decades, the organisation has fostered a strong local supplier ecosystem of MedTech component manufacturing – covering capabilities like plastics, EMS, machining, castings, 3D printing - contributing $1 million in supplier labour hours. The new investment will include the creation of an additional 4,00,000 labour hours.
MedTech, a sunrise sector, was thriving with the hospital industry in India, accounting for 80% of the total healthcare market and witnessing strong investor demand locally and globally, the company said.
Currently, Wipro GE Healthcare has four manufacturing plants in Bengaluru. All four manufacturing plants are export plants – the latest one established in March 2022 with an investment of a little over ₹100 crore under the PLI Scheme. The Healthcare Technology Centre India (HTCI) is GE HealthCare’s largest R&D centre outside of the U.S.A., situated in John F. Welch Technology Centre (JFWTC), Bengaluru.
Published - March 26, 2024 08:30 pm IST