IHD To Support MSMEs In Healthcare With Advance Manufacturing, Exports

Micro Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) minister Narayan Rane has launched India Health Dialogue (IHD) to enhance MSMEs in healthcare with advanced manufacturing capabilities and boost exports in order to promote self-reliance and reduce healthcare or medical imports in the country.

According to the MSME Ministry, IHD -  a collaborative and stakeholders platform, is a global initiative of India Chamber of Business and Commerce in partnership with Indian Council of Medical research , Indian Medical Association(IMA) and supported by  Ministry of MSME to build robust ecosystem to revolutionise health and health care sector for the future.

Addressing the gathering, Rane said the MSME ministry has “identified health as a target sector for import substitution and is partnering with IHD for structured interventions to promote advance manufacturing capabilities among MSMEs for achieving Atma Nirbhar Bharat and export promotion in the health domain.”

According to the statement cutting-edge technologies are going to dominate the future of India and the Ministry of MSMEs’ role in building an advanced manufacturing ecosystem is critical in making India both Atam Nirbhar Bharat and making India manufacturing hub in health and healthcare.

President and CEO of the Indian Chamber of Business and Commerce said that IHD serves as a great opportunity for state governments to showcase business and investment opportunities in their respective states.

Buoyed by Covid tailwinds, India’s healthcare industry has seen significant growth post-Covid. The sector stood at USD 372 billion in 2022, growing at a compounded annual rate of 22 per cent from 2016, according to India Brand Equity Foundation.

In the 2023 budget, the government allocated USD 10.76 billion to the healthcare sector. Notably, pharmaceutical products comprised 4.6 per cent of India’s total exports, crossing USD 19.4 billion in FY22. In FY23 till February, the share stood at 4.3 per cent amounting to USD 17.93 billion, as per the data sourced from the Department of Commerce.

In comparison, pharma imports till February in FY23 stood at USD 2.3 billion with a share of 0.36 per cent in India’s total imports while FY22 pharma imports amounting to USD 3.4 billion had a share of  0.56 per cent in total imports.