Last Updated on December 31, 2023 by The Health Master
The Department of Commerce (DoC) has approved the setting up of a separate Export Promotion Council (EPC) for the medical devices sector under the administrative control of the Department of Pharmaceuticals to help exporters promote their products in international markets.
The medical devices industry welcomed the move and the strategic step will go a long way in accelerating the exports of medical devices from India.
The creation of the EPC for medical devices is approved by the DoC with a one-time waiver of the condition in guidelines on the subject, stipulating the creation of an Export Promotion Forum initially, before its upgradation as EPC.
The Council will be headquartered in YEIDA, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, with regional offices in Andhra Pradesh (in AMTZ, Visakhapatnam) and Telangana (in Hyderabad).
The headquarters will be set up with initial funding of Rs. 3 crores, in free office space of around 5,000 swift area at the upcoming Medical Devices Park Common Facility Centre in Greater Noida, and required secretarial staff to run the Council.
The Regional Office at Visakhapatnam is expected to be set up in a period of one year, by the end of 2023, and the regional office at Hyderabad will be set up in a period of three years, by 2025.
The office space, manpower, and other requirements for the regional offices have to be fulfilled by the respective State Governments, said an Office Memorandum from the DoC.
The Council’s administration and management will be through the Committee of Administration, with elected and nominated members.
The nominated members shall be from the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Department of Commerce, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), ministry of health and family welfare, Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), chief executive officers or managing directors of major medical device clusters or parks especially, including the MD of Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone and chief executive officer of Hyderabad Pharma City, etc.
India currently exports Rs. 23,766 crores (2021-22) of medical devices, up from the previous year’s Rs. 19,736 crores.
However, with almost 80 percent of the medical device demand in the country is met through imports, the government and the industry are looking at various methods to improve domestic manufacturing and increase exports from the country.
The Office Memorandum further states that the chairman and vice chairman of the Council shall be elected by members who are manufacturers or processors of medical devices, and other members, including merchant exporters, shall not be eligible for the post.
While the final decision on the jurisdiction will be taken by the CoA, the office in Visakhapatnam is expected to have jurisdiction over Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, and Chhattisgarh, and the office in Hyderabad will have jurisdiction over the States of Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Maharashtra.
The headquarters will serve the requirements of the member exports pan India till the regional facilities come up.
The entire range of medical device goods and services could be broadly qualified into sub-groups named panels, such as disposables, consumables, orthopedic implants, IVD equipment and reagents, and surgical instruments.
There would also be panels for policy advocacy, technology upgradation and transfer, and start-ups.
The Office Memorandum said, “The proposed council shall, inter alia, help exporters in promoting their products in international markets, through various promotional activities including organizing/participating in international trade fairs, buyer-seller meets, RBSM in India, etc., in line with the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) of India.”
The Council may also organize awareness programs for the dissemination of information regarding assistance available for the MSME exporters under various government schemes. EEPC India will provide assistance and guidance to the new Council in the discharge of its function for a period of five years.
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