There is immense potential for import substitution, and at a later stage for exports also, of medical devices in India as 80 per cent of the devices are being imported at present, according to Thomas Fuhrmann, CEO and Managing Director of TUV Rheinland (India) Pvt Ltd.

He was speaking here on Friday afternoon after signing an agreement with the Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone (AMTZ) for setting up a medical devices testing lab at the medical devices park being set up in Visakhapatnam district on an area of 270 acres. AMTZ CEO Jitendar Kumar Sharma signed the pact on behalf of AMTZ.

Fuhrmann said his company had been awarded the contract to set up and operate the lab with facilities for testing electro-magnetic interference (EMI/EMC), anechoic chambers, bio-material reliability and electrical safety.

"The State Government would provide the land, two acres or so, in the medical devices park and we have to invest roughly Rs 100 crore or so on the lab," he said and lauded the efforts of AP Government in setting up the park, which would give a great boost to the sector in the State and the country.

Kalyan Verma, Vice-President of the company, said: "The availability of world-class testing facilities within the medical devices park will make it easier for the manufacturers in improving quality. It will reduce logistics cost and the manufacturers can get their products tested within the park in accordance with the new Medical Devices Rules, 2017, coming into force from Jan 1, 2018."

AMTZ CEO Jitendar Kumar Sharma said for the first time in the country such a park was being set up, with the latest testing labs and other facilities, and it would give a great fillip to the sector in the State and the country. He said 250-300 medical device manufacturing units may come up in the park. The testing lab would be ready by next year.

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