Visakhapatnam is set to emerge as a major hub for manufacture of medical devices in the country, meeting the requirements of the domestic market as well as the export market, according to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. 

He was speaking at the inaugural session of the fourth WHO Global Forum on Medical Devices after dedicating the AP Medtech Zone to the nation on Thursday. He said 80-90 per cent of the medical devices in the country were imported and most of them could be manufactured at the AP Medtech Zone and even exports could be taken up at a later stage. 

The park will give a tremendous boost to the medical devices segment in the healthcare industry, he added. He complimented CEO Jitendar Sharma for his hard work in completing the first phase of the park in a year's time.

Naidu said it was the first time the WHO Global Forum on Medical devices was being held in the country and he thanked the WHO representative Henk Bekedam for choosing Visakhapatnam and AP Medtech Zone for the purpose. He offered to host it the next time as well. 

Centre’s contribution

Union Minister of State for Health Ashwini Kumar Chowbey congratulated the AP government for setting up the Medtech Zone and said the Centre had also played its part in setting up two incubation centres in the zone. He said the NDA government was giving a lot of importance to healthcare and it had taken up the Ayushman Bharat insurance scheme for the poorer sections.

Poonam Malakondaiah, Principal Secretary, Health, AP, said all facilities had been set up in the park for manufacture, testing, and certification of medical devices in the park and from a simple thermometer to CT scans could be manufactured there. She said the product rollout from the park would begin next month. 

‘All set to go’

Jitendar Sharma, CEO and MD of AP Medtech, said that in a little over a year’s time the first phase of the park had been completed, as the Chief Minister had given all cooperation and cleared all the hurdles in the construction of the park. He said India is importing medical devices worth ₹30,000 crore a year and the park would play a big role in import substitution. Later, exports could also be taken up. 

The greatest emphasis would be on quality control, with 18 high-end industrial labs in the park. Eighty units, including 17 start-ups, have already started functioning, he added.

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