Union Minister for Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh today said, India is one of the top five countries in the world for the production of life-saving, high-risk medical gadgets, but the cost of our products is only approximately one-third of what the other four nations charge.

Dr. Jitendra Singh addressed the faculty and students after officially opening the Combined Devices Block at the Chitra Triunal Institute of Medical Science and Technology in this city. He noted that three to four nations, including the United States, Japan, Brazil, and China, manufacture technologies developed by the institute, such as the artificial heart valve, hydrocephalus shunt, oxygenator, and drug-eluting intrauterine device.

According to him, Indian patients can access top-notch medical devices at a cost that is roughly one-fourth to one-third less than that of their imported counterparts. He emphasised that this supports PM Modi’s Atmanirbhar goal of the country becoming self-sufficient in medical care and equipment.

He emphasised that it was Prime Minister Modi who announced the Global Harmonisation Task Force (GHTF) framework and best international practices-compliant Medical Devices Rules in 2017. The new rules aim to eliminate regulatory barriers to manufacturing in India, to streamline company operations, and ensure access to better medical devices for patient care and safety.

The Chitra Institute’s Combined Devices Block is a prime illustration of how medicines and medical devices are combining, and this trend needs to be institutionalised. According to him, the Institute serves as a model for medicine and biomedicine, and IITs and other renowned medical institutions are now copying it.

The Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, is a renowned organisation under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, Dr. Jitendra Singh observed with pride. The only institute that combines human resource development, high-quality clinical treatment, investigations, and initiatives related to public health, with biomedical research and development all within one institutional framework is this one.

According to Dr. Jitendra Singh, this institute has been concentrating on the development of medical device technologies that, in terms of quality and functional efficacy, are on par with any product currently on the market internationally. At the same time, this Institute has made sure that these products are made accessible to Indian patients at a reasonable price. According to him, a number of products, including orthopaedic and dental supplies, blood bags, oxygenators, hydrocephalus shunts, heart valves, and oxygenators, have made sure that they are accessible to Indian patients at reasonable and cost-effective pricing. The Institute’s crucial role in connecting its research with societal concerns, particularly those of the underprivileged, was also praised by the Minister.

The majority of the innovations developed at the Chitra Institute are transferred to private commercial firms and have been enduring in the market for decades. According to Dr. Jitendra Singh, who was focusing on the synergy concept and Integrated Approach of Modi. According to the Minister, industrial institutions frequently provide complete funding for product development projects, and both of these are excellent illustrations of how to foster increased private involvement in R&D.

Additionally, he said, R&D for Ease of Living can only be successful if the private sector joins as an equal participant and funds the initiative from the start. He claimed that sustainable start-ups must have an equal stake from the public and private sectors. He cited the Technology Development Board of DST and Bharat Biotech as an example of a partnership that resulted in a corpus fund of $400 million that both organisations contributed equally to, with the goal of assisting startups in the production of vaccines and other medical endeavours. The Minister emphasised that the DNA vaccine developed by the Department of Biotechnology was afterwards successfully employed by the private sector and that this is the core of an integrated approach.

He told the medical community that Petri Honkonen, the minister of education and culture of Finland, had just called him and was full of praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s handling of the COVID pandemic as well as the Union Government of India’s efforts to ensure the development of vaccines and vaccination for all citizens. The Minister of Finland stated that while his country, which has a population of 5 million, battled the pandemic, India, which has a population of 130 crores, led the way in the global war against COVID-19 and provided vaccines to many other nations, notably its neighbours.

Dr. Jitendra Singh stated that the pandemic has taught us the benefits of holistic healthcare and that institutionalising an integrated medical strategy for effective treatment and illness prevention will be in the best interests of humanity, even after the pandemic has gone. During the COVID, he claimed, even the West began to seek India for immunity-boosting methods derived from Ayurveda, homeopathy, unani, yoga, naturopathy, and other alternative eastern practices.

He was pleased to learn that the institute is working with the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation, the state government of Kerala, to establish a medical device park called MedSpark. According to him, fresh initiatives in the field of combination devices will unquestionably enable the institute to play a bigger part in aiding the Indian Medical Device Industry in enhancing its capacity to produce medical devices domestically.

Dr. Sanjay Bihari, Director of the Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Science and Technology, stated that the institute has made sure that all testing procedures involving medical devices are accredited to the French-based COFRAC, a global organisation. As a result, the clinical community is more likely to use the items with trust. This has also aided numerous Indian manufacturers of medical devices in obtaining certification for their goods from domestic and foreign authorities, including the Drugs Controller General of India, CE marking, the Food and Drug Administration of the United States, and the Therapeutic Goods Administration of Australia.

The inaugural event was attended by Dr. V. K. Saraswat, Member of Health Niti Aayog, Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram, as well as a number of renowned doctors and medical experts.

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