In a keynote address at the APACMed Medical Technology Forum 2025, Shri Amit Agrawal, Secretary of the Department of Pharmaceuticals, laid out India’s vision to become a global MedTech powerhouse. Held under the theme “Unlocking India for Global Leadership in MedTech,” the forum provided a platform for Agrawal to showcase how India plans to expand its presence in medical technology internationally.
Agrawal stressed that India’s demographic strengths, steady economic growth, and increasingly favorable policy climate provide fertile ground for a larger global role in medical technology. With rising incomes and broader healthcare access, along with scaling up of government health programmes, he predicted that India could significantly boost its share of the global MedTech market by the year 2047.
To support this vision, India is constructing three modern medical device parks, expected to open by early 2027. These parks will feature shared infrastructure and specialized facilities for producing key raw materials and components — medical-grade alloys, specialized ceramics and polymers, glass, packaging materials, and more. The aim: reduce dependence on imports and ease the manufacturing process domestically.
Recognizing that innovation depends on strong collaboration, Agrawal pointed to several initiatives strengthening ties between educational institutions and the medical devices industry. These include:
• A committee coordinating between academia and industry under NIPER (National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research)
• Establishing Industry–Institute Cells and giving industry representatives seats on Boards of Studies
• Creating “Professors of Practice” and chair professorships to link teaching with industry experience
• Supporting research partnerships, curriculum co-development, continuous education, training programmes, and student-faculty engagement in real industrial settings
These measures intend to nurture talent, spur innovation, and promote projects that are closely aligned with industry needs.
The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for medical devices, Agrawal noted, has already begun to deliver: accelerating domestic production, drawing in international investment, and helping integrate Indian manufacturers into global value chains. The objective is not only to manufacture, but to contribute across the entire lifecycle — from design and innovation to exports.
Invoking the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (“the world is one family”), Agrawal tied India’s healthcare outreach to broader international solidarity — resonant with India’s G20 presidency theme, “One Earth, One Family, One Future.” He expressed India’s resolve to foster collaborative partnerships globally in health technology, aiming to share innovation, resources, and capacity.
Summing up, the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers reaffirmed its dedication to making India a premier destination for MedTech innovation and manufacturing. It supports a vision of both self-reliance and active engagement with the world’s health technology ecosystem.