The Medical Technology Association of India (MTaI) has recently requested the Indian government to enact reforms in the Union Budget of 2023. These reforms coincide to the Modi government’s desire to improve healthcare in India. One of their suggestions is to lower import taxes on medical devices that cannot be made in India yet. The MTaI has proposed lowering custom duties to 2.5% and lowering of the 5% ad valorem on imported medical devices. Hopefully, these reductions will lower the price of imported devices and costs to Indian patients. Currently, over 80% of India’s medical devices are from overseas.
The MTaI also recommended that the Indian government allocate more money towards public health spending, fund more preventative medical checkups, more tax exemptions for patients, etc. In addition, the MTaI wants more money and benefits for India’s burgeoning domestic device companies. One idea includes the Indian government promoting domestic devices globally to increase device exports and branding of Made in India device products.