The Indian medical devices industry has been given a cold shoulder in the Union Budget 2022-23 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam in the Parliament on Tuesday, the Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) said.
“We were expecting the government to move forward on promised reforms and anticipated conducive measures to boost domestic manufacturing of medical devices,” AiMeD Forum Coordinator Rajiv Nath said.
It is frustrating that against our expectations, the government has not included any measures to help end the 80-85 per cent import dependence forced upon India and an ever increasing import bill of over Rs 46,000 crore, he added.
According to Nath, the Budget has nothing for promote the growth of Indian medical devices industry other than repeating last year’s assurance to end custom exemptions of products that can be made in India.
“The only positive announcement was on Public Procurement by allowing 75 per cent prompt payments and bringing in a weighted price preference on account of quality which is especially critical in healthcare related medical devices,” he said.