Budget 2022 disappoints medical equipment manufacturers

The government didn’t include any measures to help end the 80-85% import dependence forced upon India, said Rajiv Nath, Forum Coordinator, AiMeD.

The medical device manufacturers expressed their displeasure with the Budget 2022 alleging that a 'cold shoulder' was given to the industry. The medical device manufacturers are one of the key players in the Covid vaccination drive with record syringes being manufactured at the facilities.

Rajiv Nath, Forum Coordinator at the Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) and Managing Director of Hindustan Syringes and Medical Devices (HMD), said, "We were expecting the government to move forward on promised reforms and anticipated conducive measures to boost domestic manufacturing of medical devices."

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"It is frustrating that, against our expectations, the government has not included any measures to help end the 80-85% import dependence forced upon India and an ever increasing import bill of over Rs. 46,000 crore and promoting growth of the Indian Medical Device industry other than repeating last years assurance to end custom exemptions of products that can be made in India," said Nath.

The AiMeD said they were expecting a predictable tariff policy, graded increase of custom duty to 10-15% from current zero to 7.5% and reduced GST.

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"The only positive news was on Public Procurement by allowing 75% prompt payments and bringing in a weighted price preference on account of quality, which is especially critical in healthcare related medical devices," Nath said.