100% FDI in medical devices to come into effect from Jan 21

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 6

The government’s decision to permit 100% FDI in medical devices will take effect from January 21, the Commerce and Industry Ministry said today. The Union Cabinet last month approved liberalising FDI policy for the cash-starved medical devices sector.

As per the decision, FDI up to 100% through automatic route has been permitted for manufacturing of medical devices in the country.

Easing of norms for medical devices industry by creating special carve out in the extant FDI policy on pharma sector will encourage FDI inflows in this area.

Medical devices include any instrument, apparatus, appliance, implant, material or other article, whether used alone or in combination, including the software intended by its manufacturer to be used specially for human beings or animals for one or more of the specific purposes.

Pavan Choudary, chairman, Medical Technology Division of CII, said the main reason for this scant FDI was that medical devices (as drugs) had to go through the tedious FIPB route which was a time, effort and resource-consuming affair.