India emerging as top affordable healthcare destination, global pharma leader: Minister
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India is emerging as a top cost-effective healthcare destination and, at the same time, a leader in the global pharmaceutical industry, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh, said on Tuesday.
Addressing the ‘Global MedTech Summit 2024,’ organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in the national capital, the minister spoke about the transformation in healthcare brought about in recent times.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has laid down a vision for a healthy India with the elimination of communicable diseases and prevention of non-communicable diseases, developing health indices and making steady progress," Dr Singh told the gathering, adding that preventive healthcare is a national priority to achieve the vision ‘India@2047’.
The minister highlighted the increasing prevalence of morbidities of later age happening in younger ages like type 2 diabetes, young heart attacks, and malignancies etc.
These are not only a health challenge but also threaten to drain away the vital youth energy and youth potential which would otherwise be contributing to the task of nation-building and realizing the vision of India 2047, he emphasised.
The Minister also described India as among the top 6 bio-manufacturers of the world and one of the most cost-effective and efficacy-based bio-manufacturing as well as cost-effective healthcare destinations. He said that bio-manufacturing and bio-foundry have grown more than 10 times from $10 billion in 2014 to $130 billion in 2024.
"Medical devices are considered as one of the sunrise sectors in the country and the government is taking every possible step to make India its manufacturing hub," he said.
Dr Singh stated that technology plays a crucial role in ensuring equitable access to healthcare. "Technology is revolutionising the healthcare sector, and the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) tools can significantly enhance our capabilities by leveraging technology, we can enhance efficiency, reduce wait times, and improve overall healthcare delivery," he noted.
