With a current estimated size of around $11 Billion and a CAGR of 10-12 per cent over the last decade, the Indian medical devices manufacturing industry is one of the fastest growing ones in India. Infact, India is the 4th largest market for medical devices in Asia and one of the fastest-growing ones.
Focus has shifted to this sector because of the increased push by the Government and favourable manufacturing circumstances that are giving birth to multiple new promising startups. In this blog, we explore all major circumstances and opportunities that are behind this exponential growth.
Opportunities in Indian medical devices manufacturing sector
The growing opportunities are resulting from a combination of the following:
- Increasing population and demand: India is set to become the most populous country in the world, which equates to being the home to one of the biggest demand areas for medical devices and equipment in the world.
- Changing health preferences and behaviour of Indian consumers: With more health awareness and changing preferences, Indians are becoming more health conscious, which is increasing the demand for medical manufacturing.
- Increase in medical tourism: India is an attractive destination for medical tourism owing to the low cost of treatment and a large pool of talented doctors.
- Increasing health insurance coverage: With more and more people opting for health insurance, medical spending in India is increasing overall.
- Favourable conditions created by the Government: The Government is taking various steps to expedite growth in the sector; let’s explore these initiatives in the next section.
Government initiatives in the Indian medical manufacturing sector
- PLI scheme for medical devices manufacturing: To boost the Make in India initiative, the Government has launched the production-linked incentive scheme for promoting domestic manufacturing of medical devices. The scheme covers incentives of about Rs. 3,420 crores that will collectively increase domestic production and attract investments in the medical devices sector.
- Medical device parks in India: The medical device parks initiative in India, with a total financial outlay of Rs. 400 crores, is aimed at boosting the domestic infrastructure for medical manufacturing in India. This will help create manufacturing clusters that will reduce manufacturing costs and create a competitive advantage for large-scale manufacturing with a streamlined supply chain.
- Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Pharmaceuticals (PLI 2.0): PLI 2.0 is about boosting pharmaceutical manufacturing activities. With incentives of about Rs. 15,000 crores, the scheme aims to empower pharma companies to compete globally and make India a hub of pharma manufacturing in a wide range of goods, devices, and more.
- National Medical Device Policy 2022: The Government is also working on other initiatives like the National Medical Devices Policy, which, if implemented, would further smoothen the process of medical devices manufacturing for companies in India. It will be aimed at removing various friction points that stop companies from growing globally.
- Indian Certification of Medical Devices (ICMED) 13485 Plus scheme: Quality Council of India(QCI) and the Association of Indian Manufacturers of Medical Devices (AiMeD) launched the scheme to undertake verification of the quality, safety and efficacy of medical devices.
Latest technological changes fueling growth in the sector
The healthcare world is changing quickly, and a big part of the opportunities come from the technological advancements that the world is going through. Certain growth opportunities are listed here, from the technological advancements point of view:
- 3D printing of prosthetics, dental implants, custom medical devices, and more
- Medical robots in surgery, labs, operations, and more
- Sophistication in medical wearables (Diagnostics like medtech oximeter and more)
- Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) devices
- Telemedicine
- 3D Bioprinting
- AR/VR devices for training, marketing, and more
Major growth segments in medical devices manufacturing
Current and future opportunities are impacting almost all sectors within medical devices manufacturing, but there are areas which are witnessing huge growth relatively.
- Consumables & Disposables, including needles and syringes, etc.
- Diagnostic Imaging includes MRI, X-Ray, Ultrasounds, etc.
- Dental Products, including braces, etc.
- Orthopaedics & Prosthetics include knee implants, artificial joints, etc.
- Patient Aids include hearing aids, pacemakers, etc.
Current challenges in manufacturing and how is Karkhana.io solving them
Government initiatives are planned to address current challenges in every industry. Like other industries, the medical manufacturing industry has its fair share of challenges that restrict growth for new medical devices manufacturing companies and startups. The major ones are:
- Lack of infrastructure and standardisation among manufacturers: Finding a manufacturer for particular needs is a big challenge for companies and startups, as established manufacturers prefer to work only with large companies and orders. The medical device parks initiative will answer this problem, but while we get there, companies and startups face challenges finding a manufacturer.
- R&D challenges: Building prototypes and testing specific theories can become a huge cost for companies. This especially becomes a challenge when almost every manufacturer you talk to has a minimum order quantity.
- Inconsistent regulations and industry know-how: Your medical device manufacturers must adhere to all Government medical device regulations, which is only possible if you have expert manufacturing advisors on board which comes at a cost.
- Inconsistent pricing: The pricing quotes you get from manufacturers would vary a lot, making it difficult to assess the right fit for your medical device manufacturing.
Karkhana.io is helping solve all these challenges by providing a one-stop solution for medical manufacturing. You can get access to vetted manufacturers and the best industry pricing without compromising on quality, expertise, or dealing with minimum order quantities.
After you upload the CAD designs of the products/devices to be manufactured, our digital manufacturing platform helps you with easy and quick quotations, DfM feedback via our expert engineers, end-to-end project management, regular QC, audits of suppliers, logistics, and more.
If you wish to explore the rapid scaling of your medical device manufacturing work, sign up using the form below.
Our strong client base is present across India, encompassing cities such as Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, and Hyderabad. We cater to our clients with seamless manufacturing solutions across industries like Aerospace, Automation, Automobile, Defence, Drone, Energy, EVs, FMCG, General Engineering, Medical, Oil & Gas, Pharma, and Robotics.
