CHENNAI: The Union Budget for 2023-24 is a disappointing one because expectations and assurances given earlier have not been fulfilled, Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) Forum Coordinator Rajiv Nath said on Wednesday.

He claims that the domestic medical equipment business has received a cold shoulder from the FY24 budget. The only positive announcement was plans for skilling of manpower for manufacturing of medical technologies, he remarked.

Nath said it was disappointing that the government had not yet made any announcements to help end India's forced 80–85 percent import dependence and an ever–rising import bill of more than Rs 63,200 crore. This went against the industry's expectations and assurances from various government departments.

Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi's calls for India to surpass Atmanirbhar in the production of medical equipment, the imports of these products grew by an "alarming" 41 percent in FY22. According to data from the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India imported medical devices worth Rs 63,200 crore in 2021–22, up 41% from Rs 44,708 crore in 2020–21, Nath added. He said, sadly, the government did not even implement the recommendations made by the Parliamentary Committee on Health.

He continued, "We may have seen a reversal in the import reliance and growth of the domestic industry if the government implements even 70% of the recommendations.

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