Govt Sets Up Unit to Select Healthcare Startups' Tech that Reduce Imported Tech Dependency
Last year in September, India's central government launched National Health Protection Scheme or Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna
- In a latest to this, the National Health Authority (NHA), the implementing body for the AB-PMJAY, has set up a unit to promote innovations that reduce dependence on imported technologies to make quality health care affordable.
- The NHA "innovation unit", which comprises a 4-member team, will carefully shortlist and select applications from start-ups, including organisations and individuals, offering technologies that lower cost and reduce dependency on imported technologies, which are costly.
- Dinesh Arora, who is Deputy CEO of AB-PMJAY, said, "Lot of start-ups offer affordable health care by innovating on expensive technologies that exist.
- Later in May of same year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited startups to focus on research for innovative medical devices and use technology to make healthcare more affordable and said that "India should manufacture its own medical devices to bring down the cost.