India may take a long-expected step in parliament near the end of the year to create a separate law on medical devices that fits in with the manufacturing aims of the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Business Standard newspaper reports that the prime minister's office brought up the plans in a meeting with industry and said that a Medical Device Act would likely come in the winter legislative session that typically starts in late November and ends before the New Year.
Currently, India has several laws responsible for devices, including under the Drug and Cosmetics Act of 1940, which is also the subject of efforts for an overhaul on the pharmaceutical side.
In both cases, legislative changes sought by industry and the government to reform the way the biomedical industries work and are regulated in the country have been hard to fashion as plans for more outside investment run into domestic industry opposition.
But Modi has said that both pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing are key for his "Make in India" campaign to spur job growth and has pushed domestic players to get on board and compete in the market at home and abroad.
Last week, the Business Standard said Modi’s office spoke with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce, or FICCI, the Association of Indian Medical Device Manufacturers, the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Medical Technology Association of India to get feedback on policies that will aid growth in the sector, the newspaper said.
“An added focus on promoting exports will add value," Probir Das, chairman of the FICCI Medical Device Forum told the newspaper.
Earlier this year, multinational device lobby group AdvaMed--or the Advanced Medical Technology Association--which represents nearly 300 members across Europe, India, China, Brazil, and Japan, urged Indian lawmakers to work faster to clear import roadblocks.
- here's the story from Business Standard
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