New Delhi: The Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) has urged the government to impose safeguard duties on 12 medical device categories to protect the domestic industry from cheap imports from countries such as China, Germany, Singapore and the US.
In a letter to the commerce secretary, the lobby group said there’s been an unprecedented surge in import of critical medical devices. It said uncontrolled imports are hurting domestic manufacturers, and they could face capacity underutilisation if action is not taken.
“China alone accounts for 33.47% of the total increase, making it the largest contributor to the pressure on India’s domestic industry,” AiMed said.
“The steepest rise has been in syringes and needles, where imports skyrocketed 80% from $61 million to $111 million, led by China (69%), US (91%), and Singapore (64%),” it said.
