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REVISIT IMPORT OF USED DEVICES

Ramesh Shankar
Thursday, October 31, 2024, 08:00 Hrs  [IST]

Major industry associations like the PHDCCI, AiMed, MITRA, ADMI and other key stakeholders from the medical devices industry have recently called upon the Prime Minister to order immediate ban on import of refurbished and pre-owned medical devices that are manufactured locally. The demand comes in the backdrop of an Office Memorandum issued by the Central government in August and October this year, with a revised list of 38 high-end and high-value used or refurbished medical equipment other than critical care medical equipment permitted to be imported to the country. The industry associations argue that the government’s recent decision will prove to be against the Modi government's 'Make in India' and 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' initiatives, and will be a major setback for the domestic manufacturing capabilities of the medical devices industry which has shown some remarkable growth and investment in recent years under the 'Make in India' initiative. It is a fact that in recent years, the domestic medical devices industry has developed devices meeting international quality standards, which are widely used in both Indian and international healthcare institutions. Over the last ten years, India has shown significant growth in local content and has become export-oriented for many critical, high-end, and high-value medical devices. In such a background, the Central government’s decision to permit refurbished medical devices to compete with locally made new products sounds irrational as the government’s latest salvo will prove to be a big blow to the nascent medical devices industry in the country, which is trying to stand on its own feet.

No doubt, the decision to permit import of pre-owned medical devices will have an adverse impact on the ‘Make in India’ movement and is in contravention to the National Medical Device Policy-2023 that seeks to make the country not only Atma Nirbhar in medical devices but also to make the country the global leader in medical devices manufacturing. It is certainly a regressive step by the government, as it will confuse the investors who have been putting up manufacturing capacity in the country in the last few years in response to PM's call for self-reliance in medical devices. The government has come out with the plea that by allowing the import of refurbished or pre-owned medical devices, the government wanted to make them available and affordable for small hospitals and healthcare establishments, especially in tier 2 and tier 3 cities in the country. That seems a specious plea as hospitals and diagnostic centres charge patients the same fees, regardless of whether they use new or refurbished equipment, meaning no cost benefit is passed on to patients while outdated technology is employed. The government’s decision will open the ground for large-scale dumping of older technology and electronic waste from other countries. In a country like ours where laws are followed in its violation rather than compliance, there is always a risk of importing contaminated products which will hurt the interests of gullible patients. The lack of clear refurbishment guidelines in India will allow unscrupulous traders to import substandard equipment without proper oversight. The government should revisit its decision in the interest of the poor patients as well as the fledgling domestic medical devices industry. Refurbished medical devices should only be allowed in exceptional and critical cases where Indian solutions may not be available for the next few years.

 

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