Scheme for Strengthening the Medical Device Industry

News:

• Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers launches “Scheme for Strengthening the Medical Device Industry”

About the scheme:

• The scheme is a comprehensive scheme which targets critical areas of the medical device industry, covering manufacturing of key components and accessories, skill development, support for clinical studies, development of common infrastructure and industry promotion.
• The scheme consists of five sub-schemes.
• Despite government support, the medical device manufacturing sector in India faces challenges.
• One of the primary challenges is lack of infrastructure.
• Through the sub-scheme for common facilities for medical devices clusters, the Central Government will provide financial assistance to medical device clusters for creating common infrastructure facilities such as R&D labs, Design and Testing Centre, Animal Labs etc. for the manufacturers located in the cluster.
• Support for strengthening existing Testing Facilities or setting up new ones will be provided to National/State/Private institutions.
• The second sub-scheme providing marginal investment support is designed to deepen the MedTech supply chain in the country, by focusing on manufacturing of key components, raw materials, and accessories within the country.
• This sub-scheme aims to reduce dependence on imported components.
• Currently, most raw materials and key components are imported, making Indian manufacturers reliant on external supplies for medical device production.
• The third sub-scheme focuses on capacity building and skill development for the medical device sector.
• Its goal is to develop a skilled technical workforce capable of designing and developing MedTech products.
• The Central Government will offer financial support for running various Masters’ and short-term courses.
• The fourth sub-scheme is a pioneering initiative designed to assist both established companies and start-ups in conducting clinical studies.
• The scheme enables medical device developers and manufacturers to apply for financial support for animal studies and if successful then for human trials to validate MedTech products.
• This sub-scheme is expected to significantly benefit the industry, by addressing a long-standing need for support in clinical studies.
• It will promote safety and efficacy of medical devices produced in India and also help Indian manufacturers in obtaining product registrations in international markets.
• The last sub-scheme aims to support industry associations and exports councils by providing financial assistance to organize conferences and other events that promote medical device-related activities.
• It will also support conduct of surveys and studies.

About the Indian Medical device industry:

• Medical device industry is an essential pillar of healthcare delivery.
• From diagnostic machines to surgical instruments, and from stents to prosthetics, medical devices are critical for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases.
• India’s medical device market is valued at approximately $14 billion and is expected to grow to $30 billion by 2030.
• The future of the Indian medical device industry looks very promising.
• Indian companies are already advancing and delivering innovative solutions at a fraction of the cost compared to their international competitors.
• The Government of India is actively working to create a conducive environment for developing high-quality medical devices within the country.

Koima

Context:

• A new genus of freshwater fish discovered in Western Ghats

News:

• A team of researchers have discovered Koima, a new genus of freshwater fish endemic to the Western Ghats encompassing two known species that were previously assigned under the genus Nemacheilus.

More info:

• While its discovery highlights the importance of Western Ghats as a biodiversity hotspot and a centre of endemism, it also underscores the need for a comprehensive taxonomic revision of many freshwater fish groups including nemacheilid loaches.
• Western Ghats’ endemic loach diversity remains largely unexplored and a taxonomic investigation using integrated approaches could uncover new species and genera within this biogeographic region.
• The family Nemacheilidae includes a diverse group of freshwater fish found mostly in tropical Asia and Europe and many species are valued both as a food source for local communities and as popular ornamental fish.
• Understanding ‘species boundaries’ in closely related Nemacheilid species has been a long-term challenge, given their small size, complex ontogenic colour variations, and morphological plasticity.
• Koima is distinguished from all other genera of family Nemacheilidae by its “unique colour pattern comprising a yellowish-brown ground colour, single row of black spots on lateral line, all fins hyaline, and absence of a uniform banding pattern on dorsal side.”
• The study employed an integrative approach to re-evaluate the taxonomic status of two enigmatic nemacheilid loaches of the Southern Western Ghats: Mesonoemacheilus remadevii and Nemacheilus monilis.
• The research showed that both species were misclassified until now and require placement in a new genus.
• Koima, the new genus is distinguished from other Western Ghats and Indian subcontinent nemacheilids based on a combination of characters.
• Specimens for this study were collected from the Kunthi, Bhavani, Moyar, Kabini, and Pambar rivers in the Western Ghats.

Distinct character:

• Koima remadevii typically inhabits swift-flowing riparian streams with substrates comprising rocks, boulders, and gravel, with sand and silt patches scattered throughout.
• These substrates produce a variety of microhabitats, such as gaps under boulders, and clefts between rocks that provide protection from powerful currents.
• Koima remadevii thrives in fast-flowing streams with rocky substrates.
• These fish seek shelter in the gaps between rocks and beneath boulders, finding protection from strong currents.
• Currently, Koima remadevii is only known from its type locality in the Kunthi river inside Silent Valley National Park.
• Meanwhile, Koima monilis inhabits various tributaries of the Cauvery river, occupying microhabitats ranging from large rivers to small, fast-flowing streams at elevations between 350 and 800 m.
• The generic name, Koima is derived from Malayalam and is the vernacular word used for loaches.

UPSC Prelims PYQ (2022):

Which of the following is not a bird?

1. Golden Mahseer
2. Indian Nightjar
3. Spoonbill
4. White Ibis

       Ans: A

Can India get rich before growing old?

To reap its demographic dividend before it becomes too late, India must create jobs in manufacturing

Introduction:

• There has been a lot of hype about India’s demographic dividend, ever since liberalisation unlocked possibilities beyond the reach of our once socialist, more austere imagination.
• Demographic dividend denotes a country’s economic growth advantages when most of its population is in the working-age bracket.
• Today, the dividend has become this vague, almost mythical assurance of perpetual economic growth.
• Unfortunately, as often happens with things that are, or assumed to be, perpetual, we take them for granted.
• This perhaps explains why we end up resenting the ‘extra’ number of people vying for education, employment, and housing.
• Politicians then give expression to this resentment by trying to reserve jobs for locals.

The middle-income trap:

• A reality check is in order. Even though three-fourths of India’s population is aged 15-64, the dividend, as it turns out, is not the silver bullet that we have held it out to be, nor is it perpetual.
• India’s total fertility rate (TFR) – the average number of children a woman has in her lifetime – is declining at a faster pace than was anticipated a decade ago.
• Projections suggest that within 10 years, the proportion of working-age individuals in the total population will begin to fall, marking the beginning of the end of India’s demographic dividend.
• Most States are now below the replacement-level fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman, needed to maintain a stable population.
• Southern States such as Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, with TFRs below 1.75, are leading this trend.
• Other States, including Punjab and West Bengal, are also experiencing similar declines, indicating that this is a nationwide phenomenon.
• India’s rapid decline in TFR also challenges conventional wisdom, which links lower birth rates to improvements in education and income.
• Despite modest gains in per capita income, which still places India among lower-middle-income countries, the country’s TFR has dropped from 2.6 in 2010 to 1.99 today.
• As India approaches middle-income status by the next decade, this decline is expected to accelerate.
• Whether India can get rich before it grows old is no longer just an alarmist concern; it has become an existential dread.
• What is even more worrying is that our dividend is right now being wasted as people remain stuck in low-productivity agricultural jobs or remain unemployed while preparing for competitive exams.
• Since liberalisation, India has reduced the proportion of its workforce in low productivity agriculture by a mere 17 percentage points, from 63% to 46%; for comparison, 30 years after China’s liberalisation, the country’s share of workers in agriculture reduced by 32 points, from 70% to 38%.
• Meanwhile, India’s labour force participation rate (LFPR) in urban areas remains at a dismal 50%.
• If India continues on this path, it risks falling into a middle-income trap from which only a handful of countries have escaped.
• Even China, after years of rapid growth, is slowing down.
• India must not assume it will fare any better, especially as its demographic window narrows.

Focus on manufacturing:

• So, what must we do to leverage the demographic dividend before it is too late?
• Throughout history, the proven path for economic growth has been the movement of workers from low-productivity sectors such as agriculture to higher-productivity jobs in manufacturing and services.
• While the services sector has grown significantly, manufacturing has stagnated in India.
• This needs to be addressed, because manufacturing, particularly in labour-intensive industries, creates far more jobs than services.
• For example, the textile and apparel industry, worth $150 billion, employs 45 million people, compared to 5.5 million in the $250 billion IT-BPM sector.
• Moreover, textile factories often employ 60-70% women, empowering those who might otherwise be confined to unpaid work (only three out of 10 working-age Indian women are in the labour force).
• Manufacturers in India face significant challenges.
• According to recent World Bank surveys, one in six manufacturers cites business licensing and permits as major constraints, compared to less than 3% in Vietnam.
• Similarly, access to land and cumbersome customs and trade regulations are major hurdles, with 17% of manufacturers facing such issues, compared to 3% in Vietnam.
• These barriers are stifling manufacturing growth.
• Thus, India must improve its business environment, which is crucial for enabling large-scale job creation.
• The Central government should lower tariffs to make inputs cheaper for Indian manufacturers and boost exports.
• Finalising long-pending free trade agreements with the U.K. and EU should be another priority to expand market access for Indian products.
• State governments should be bolder with labour reforms, allowing workers to choose flexible work arrangements, and also look into land and building regulations for factories.
• As per a recent report by Prosperiti, many factories can only use half their land due to restrictive building standards, which increases manufacturing costs.
• Additionally, restrictions on creating worker housing in industrial zones raise hiring costs.
• Addressing these issues and improving the investment climate must be India’s priorities.
• We must strive to capitalise on our demographic dividend.
• With a similar per capita income to India in the 1980s, China transitioned millions from agriculture to manufacturing.
• It is time India stops patting itself on the back for the short-lived blessing that is its ‘demographic dividend’ and gets to work on leveraging it.

UPSC Mains PYQ (2023):

• Faster economic growth requires increased share of the manufacturing sector in GDP, particularly of MSMEs. Comment on the present policies of the Government in this regard.

UPSC Mains PYQ (2022):

• “Economic growth in the recent past has been led by increase in labour productivity.” Explain this statement. Suggest the growth pattern that will lead to creation of more jobs without compromising labour productivity.

UPSC Mains PYQ (2014):

• While we found India’s demographic dividend, we ignore the dropping rates of employability. What are we missing while doing so? Where will the jobs that India desperately needs come from? Explain.