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The Parliamentary Panel on Chemicals and Fertilisers has recommended to the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) to consistently monitor the progress of the medical devices parks in coordination with the state agencies, to expedite commencement of production by the units in the park.
The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Chemicals and Fertilisers, while considering the Demand for Grants of the DoP for the financial year 2026-27, observed that while 193 medical devices manufacturers have been allotted land in the approved Medical Devices Parks with a projected investment of Rs. 4,735.41 crore and estimated employment generation of about 27,148, only four units in Tamil Nadu park have commenced production so far, while the parks in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are yet to begin production despite land allotments.
"In this regard, the Committee recommend that the department consistently monitor the progress of the Parks in coordination with the State Implementing Agencies concerned and take necessary steps to expedite commencement of production by the remaining allotted units," said the panel headed by Member of Parliament Kirti Azad Jha.
"The Committee would also like to know about tenure of the Scheme and targeted timelines for operationalisation of the approved units in the three states," it added.
Under the Scheme for Promotion of Medical Device Parks, which falls under the Scheme for Strengthening of Medical Devices Industry (SMDI) announced by the Department earlier, proposals from 16 states were received, out of which 4 states - Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh - were conveyed final approval for creation of common infrastructure facilities in the proposed Medical Device Parks. However, Himachal Pradesh withdrew from the Scheme in 2024.
As reported earlier, the Panel in the same report, recommended the DoP to take measures including promotion of stronger collaboration among the industry, academic institutions and research organisations to accelerate indigenous development of advanced medical devices.
It observed that currently 30 per cent of domestic content exists in medical device manufacturing indicating that a substantial proportion of components continue to be imported.
"In this context, the Committee are of the view that concrete and sustained efforts are required to decrease imported content in indigenous manufacturing of medical devices," said the panel.
"Therefore, the Committee recommend the Department to promote stronger collaboration among pharmaceutical industry, academic institutions and research organizations to accelerate indigenous development and manufacturing of advanced medical devices and thereby reducing significant import-export gap in the medical devices sector," it added.
It noted that the Department of Pharmaceuticals has undertaken various initiatives including the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for medical devices, medical devices parks, among others to address the significant import-export gap, which stood at $8.8 billion in imports as against slightly over $4 billion in exports for the year 2024-25.
The Panel acknowledged the progress made in domestic production of several high-end devices such as those used in cancer treatment (linear accelerators and cobalt machines); imaging devices (MRI scanners, CT scanners, mammography, ultrasound machines); cardiac devices (heart valves, drug-eluting stents, defibrillators); respiratory support devices (ventilators); dialysis machines for kidney care; and orthopaedic implants (knee and hip implants) and the entry of both domestic manufacturers and multinational companies into local production.
The Panel also raised questions to the DoP regarding certain allegations that some medical devices, including stents, imported from China are being relabelled as "Make in India" products. The DoP representative who attended the Panel's meeting submitted that the Department will take action if any specific instances are there.
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