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The Union Budget-2024 is visionary and progressive and will help boost the country's overall economic growth, said the Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) on Tuesday. 

The Union Budget-2024 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament "reflects the determination of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to realise the goal of a $10 trillion economy by 2030 and Viksit Bharat by 2047", said Rajiv Nath, AiMeD Forum Coordinator, in a statement.

"Nine priorities of the government -- productivity and resilience in agriculture; employment and skilling; inclusive human resource and development, and social justice; manufacturing services; urban development; energy security; infrastructure; innovation and research and development; and next-generation reforms – will act as a catalyst for the country's overall economy," Nath said.

Nath also thanked the government for "the reduction in duty on the import of components of X-ray equipment until these get to be produced in India".

He explained that "the imports of medical devices have consistently been over Rs 61,000 crore for the last three years and regretfully this year have increased by 13 per cent to Rs 69,000 crore".

Nath noted that AiMed had in January in a representation to the Department of Pharmacy (DoP), raised the issue of an increase in customs duty and removal of benefits for the import of X-ray tube and flat panel detectors under the Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP).

He said that the relief from the government is "appreciable" as the two critical components lack domestic manufacturers.

He pointed out that AiMeD had hoped for a "nominal duty increase on at least those medical devices that India had substantial manufacturing capacity as demonstrated during Covid-19 pandemic times".

"Removal of nil duty exemption on some of these medical devices would have acted as a further enabler for Make in India drive and enhance our global competitiveness," Nath said.