The Union Minister for MSME, Narayan Rane, stated that the collaboration with IHD aims to construct a robust ecosystem to revolutionise the future health and health care sector
Future-ready technologies and innovations would transform every aspect of health in India as the country strives for self-reliance, according to top global health industry experts and industry leaders congregated at the launch of the India Health Dialogue at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) AIIMS Delhi. The experts were of the view that cutting-edge technologies are going to dominate the future of India, and the Ministry of MSME’s role in building an advanced manufacturing ecosystem is critical in making India both Aatma Nirbhar Bharat and a manufacturing hub in health and healthcare.
Launching the India Health Dialogue (IHD) platform and addressing the global audience Narayan Rane, Union Minister, Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises said, “The Ministry of MSME is working towards building resilient global supply chains for the future. Our ministry has identified health as a target sector for import substitution and is partnering with IHD for structured interventions to promote advanced manufacturing capabilities among MSMEs for achieving Aatma Nirbhar Bharat and export promotion in the health domain.”
India’s healthcare sector has experienced significant growth following COVID, thanks to COVID tailwinds. The sector stood at $372 billion in 2022, growing at a compounded annual rate of 22 per cent from 2016, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation.
In the 2023 budget, the government allocated $10.76 billion to the healthcare sector. Notably, pharmaceutical products comprised 4.6 per cent of India’s total exports, crossing $19.4 billion in FY22. In FY23 until February, the share stood at 4.3 per cent amounting to $17.93 billion, as per the data sourced from the Department of Commerce. In comparison, pharma imports till February in FY23 stood at $2.3 billion with a share of 0.36 per cent in India’s total imports while FY22 pharma imports amounting to $3.4 billion had a share of 0.56 per cent in total imports.
That said, India Health Dialogue, a collaborative and stakeholders’ platform, is a global initiative of the India Chamber of Business and Commerce in partnership with the Indian Council of Medical Research, Indian Medical Association (IMA) and supported by the Ministry of MSME, GOI to build a robust ecosystem to revolutionise the health and health care sectors for the future.
Nitin Pangotra, President and CEO of the India Chamber, said that IHD has been specifically designed as an integrated platform which will be at the forefront of driving change and building a profound ecosystem to promote Aatma Nirbhar Bharat in the healthcare sector. This platform also serves as a great opportunity for state governments to showcase business and investment opportunities in their respective states.
The platform will help fill the knowledge gap in the sector and provide India’s business ecosystem with a launchpad to showcase India’s story and its Next-Gen technologies to the world. This platform enables stakeholders to experience the latest technologies in this domain under one roof.
The India Health Dialogue provides a global opportunity for stakeholders to collaborate and partner in shaping the healthcare sector in India. The platforms aim to be catalysts for creating a $1 trillion Indian health sector in the coming years.
