“India emerging as world-class cost-effective healthcare destination and global pharma leader”, says Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh

Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh, addressing the “Global MedTech Summit 2024” organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at Hotel Le Meridian here, highlighted India’s emergence as a world-class cost-effective healthcare destination and at the same time, a leader in the global pharmaceutical industry.

Speaking on the transformation in healthcare brought about in recent times, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has laid down a vision for a healthy India with the elimination of communicable diseases and prevention of non-communicable diseases, developing health indices and making steady progress.” He said, “India carried out the world’s largest vaccination drive in COVID pandemic; this reaffirms that the Modi Govt firmly believes that accessible healthcare is a right of every citizen. He also pressed on the new burden of metabolic disorders and the challenges it posed with a wide spectrum of diseases and increasing life span bringing novel diseases.

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Earth Sciences, MoS PMO, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Dr. Jitendra Singh, said preventive healthcare is a national priority to achieve the vision India @ 2047.

Dr. Jitendra Singh, who is himself a professor of medicine & endocrinology, highlighted the Increasing prevalence of morbidities of later age happening in younger age like Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, young Heart attacks, malignancies etc, are not only a health challenge but also threaten to drain away the vital youth energy and youth potential which would otherwise be contributing to the task of nation building and realizing the vision of India 2047.

Dr. Jitendra Singh advocated for a “PPP + PPP” collaboration, urging the public and private sectors within India to partner with their counterparts in other countries. He highlighted that such partnerships not only boost economic resources but also enhance knowledge resources. He pointed to the success in the space and biotechnology sectors as role models for integrated partnerships, noting the rapid growth in private investment and StarUp numbers in these areas.

“Success In space and biotechnology sector serves as role model for Integrated partnership” remarked Dr. Singh. The Minister said opening up of the Space sector had ushered a private investment of more than Rs 1,000 crore within a few months and boosted the StartUp numbers from 1 startup in 2022 to 200 plus StartUps currently, with some of them having global potential.

The Minister also described India among the top 6 Bio-manufacturers of the world and one of the most cost-effective and efficacy-based Bio-manufacturing as well as cost-effective healthcare destinations. He referred to BIRAC-Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council as one platform for industry linkage and research.

The Minister also recalled the efforts of the Department of Biotechnology and their achievements for fostering research and development in translational health sciences. He said the Bio- manufacturing and bio-foundry has grown more than 10 times from $10 billion in 2014 to $130 billion in 2024.

The Science and technology Minister said the “Medical Devices is considered as one of the sunrise sectors in the country and the Government under Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s leadership is taking every possible step to make India its manufacturing hub”. Going further the minister informed that a research group is in place to create indices, draw benchmarks and propose plan of action.

Dr. Jitendra Singh stated that technology plays a crucial role in ensuring equitable access to healthcare. Technology is revolutionizing the healthcare sector, and the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) tools can significantly enhance our capabilities by leveraging technology, we can enhance efficiency, reduce wait times, and improve overall healthcare delivery. Sharing his experience with Telemedicine, the Minister shared how it has transformed healthcare and made services accessible even in the remotest villages of the country. But at the same time, he shared his experience with CPGRAMS and said we have to sometimes supplement AI with human intervention also by sharing the example of a human desk for taking feedback.

In conclusion, Dr. Jitendra Singh called for robust Industry-Academia-Research and Entrepreneurship linkages from the outset, reinforcing the need for a collaborative approach to achieve the vision of a healthy India by 2047.