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DoP designates OSD to carry out works to set up Export Promotion Council for Medical Devices
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Gireesh Babu, New Delhi
December 08 , 2022
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In an effort to initiate its actions towards setting up of the Export Promotion Council for Medical Devices (EPC-MD), the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) has designated an official from the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) India as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD).
The DoP said that it initiated necessary action towards establishing the EPC-MD, and has designated Pallavi Saha, joint director of EEPC India as the OSD for the proposed Council, to be nodal officer of contact to carry out all the actions towards establishing EPC-MD on consultation with the Department. The arrangement is till a regular functionary is appointed for the EPC-MD, it added.
It may be noted that in September this year, the Department of Commerce (DoC) has approved setting up a separate Export Promotion Council for the medical devices sector under the administrative control of the Department of Pharmaceuticals to help exporters in promoting their products in international markets. The medical devices industry welcomed the move and the strategic step will go a long way in accelerating the exports of medical devices from India.
The creation of the EPC for medical devices is approved by the DoC with one time waiver of the condition in guidelines on the subject, stipulating creation of an Export Promotion Forum initially, before its upgradation as EPC. According to the approval, the Council will be headquartered in YEIDA, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh with regional offices in Andhra Pradesh (in AMTZ, Visakhapatnam) and Telangana (in Hyderabad). The headquarters will be set up with initial funding of Rs 3 crore, in free office space of around 5,000 sq.ft area at the upcoming Medical Devices Park Common Facility Centre in Greater Noida, and required secretarial staff to run the Council.
The Regional Office at Visakhapatnam is expected to be set up in a period of one year, by the end of 2023, and the regional office at Hyderabad will be set up in a period of three years, by 2025. The office space, manpower and other requirements for the regional offices has to be fulfilled by the respective state governments, said an office memorandum from the DoC.
The Council’s administration and management will be through the Committee of Administration with elected and nominated members. The nominated members shall be from Department of Pharmaceuticals, Department of Commerce, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), Chief Executive Officers or Managing Directors of major medical device clusters or parks especially, including the MD of Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone and chief executive officer of Hyderabad Pharma City etc.
The industry said that it is a great news, a big boost to Indian Medical Devices Manufacturing. The long sought and requested Medical Devices Exports Promotion Council is finally sanctioned to be created under the aegis of DoP, Government of India. This strategic step will go a long way in accelerating the exports and manufacturing growth of the medical devices sector, they said.
An Office Memorandum in September further stated that the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Council shall be elected from members who are manufacturers or processors of medical devices and other members, including from merchant exporters, shall not be eligible for the post. While the final decision on the jurisdiction will be taken by the CoA, the office in Visakhapatnam is expected to have jurisdiction over Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh, the office in Hyderabad will have jurisdiction over the States of Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra. The headquarters will serve the requirements of the member exports pan India till the regional facilities come up.
The entire range of medical devices goods and services could be broadly qualified into sub-groups named as panels, such as disposables, consumables, orthopaedic implants, IVD equipment and reagents and surgical instruments. There would also be panels for policy advocacy, technology upgradation and transfer and start-ups.
“The proposed council shall, inter alia, help exporters in promoting their products in international markets, through various promotional activities including organising/participating in international trade fairs, buyer-seller meets, RBSM in India, etc., in line with the foreign trade policy (FTP) of India,” said the Office Memorandum. The Council may also organise awareness programs for dissemination of information regarding assistance available for the MSME exporters under various government schemes. EEPC India will provide assistance and guidance to the new Council in discharge of its function for a period of five years.
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