DoP designates OSD to expedite process of setting up of EPC for medical devices

The Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) has recently designated an official from the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) India as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to expedite the process of setting up of the Export Promotion Council for Medical Devices (EPC-MD). The DoP has initiated this necessary action towards establishing the EPC-MD, and has designated Pallavi Saha, Joint Director of EEPC India, as the OSD for the proposed Council.

The new OSD will be the nodal officer of contact to carry out all the actions towards establishing EPC-MD in consultation with the DoP. This new arrangement will be in force till a regular functionary is appointed for the EPC-MD. The proposed Council will, inter alia, help exporters in promoting their products in international markets, through various promotional activities including organizing and participating in international trade fairs, buyer-seller meets, RBSM in India, etc., in line with the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) of India.

The Council will 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. 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.

Earlier in September this year, the Union Commerce Ministry had approved setting up a separate Export Promotion Council (EPC) 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 creation of the EPC for medical devices was approved by the Commerce Ministry 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.

The new 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, at the upcoming Medical Devices Park Common Facility Centre in Greater Noida. 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 Council's administration and management will be through the Committee of Administration (CoA) 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.

Of course, the setting up of a separate Export Promotion Council for Medical Devices is a positive move by the government and this strategic step will go a long way in accelerating the exports of medical devices from India. In line with other export promotion councils, the chairman and vice chairman of the proposed Council will be elected from members who are manufacturers or processors of medical devices and other members, including from merchant exporters, shall not be eligible for these posts.

While the final decision on the jurisdiction will be taken by the CoA at a later time, the office in Visakhapatnam is expected to have jurisdiction over Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh. Likewise, 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 exporters pan India till the regional facilities come up. Undoubtedly, it is a right step, and in the long run will prove to be a big boost to Indian medical devices manufacturing. The new Council will help bring in coordinated inter-ministerial policy measures for unleashing the huge export potential of medical devices for the global market.

(The author is a freelance journalist with varied experience in different fields)