Union Health and Family Welfare and Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister J.P. Nadda on Saturday chaired a CEO roundtable at India Medical Device 2026, bringing together government policymakers and more than 40 CEOs from global and domestic medical technology companies and MSMEs to discuss strengthening India’s MedTech ecosystem.
Held at Vigyan Bhawan and organised by the Department of Pharmaceuticals in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the roundtable focused on boosting innovation and investment, strengthening domestic medical device manufacturing and creating an enabling environment for Indian MedTech companies to expand their global presence.
The discussions also covered the policy and regulatory measures required to make India a competitive hub for medical device development and manufacturing.
Nadda also released a knowledge paper titled “AI in MedTech: Revolutionizing Healthcare Through Artificial Intelligence”, which outlines a roadmap for accelerating responsible adoption of artificial intelligence in India’s healthcare and medical device sector.
The report, jointly developed by Praxis Global Alliance and FICCI, examines the country’s emerging AI-enabled MedTech landscape and identifies policy, regulatory and ecosystem interventions required to move AI solutions from successful pilot projects to large-scale clinical use.
Five priorities for AI-enabled MedTech
The report identifies five key priorities for accelerating AI adoption in India’s medical technology sector.
It describes MedTech as one of the country’s most immediate and scalable opportunities for AI, with the potential to embed specialist expertise directly into medical devices and expand access to quality healthcare.
The report notes that India has developed important foundations for AI leadership through initiatives such as the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), IndiaAI Mission, SAHI, BODH and the National Medical Devices Policy, 2023. However, it says the ecosystem needs further development to enable AI technologies to scale across the healthcare system.
Among the major challenges identified are fragmented health data, limited clinical evidence, evolving regulatory requirements and inadequate reimbursement pathways.
The report calls for India to move beyond successful AI pilots and enable routine clinical adoption by developing AI-ready data and evidence, lifecycle-based regulation and procurement and reimbursement mechanisms that recognise the value generated by AI-enabled technologies.
AI-enabled diagnostics are expected to emerge as one of the first major areas of large-scale adoption, helping extend specialist expertise to primary and secondary healthcare facilities, improve productivity and reduce disparities in access to medical services.
The report also highlights India’s opportunity to leverage its software capabilities, digital public infrastructure, diverse clinical environment and growing medical device manufacturing base to become a global leader in the responsible development, manufacturing and deployment of AI-enabled medical technologies.
Evidence-based reimbursement crucial for innovation
Earlier in the day, ICMR Director General and Secretary, Department of Health Research, Dr Rajiv Bahl, chaired a session on “Reimbursement Mechanisms for Innovative Therapies in India’s Path to Universal Health Coverage”.
Bahl stressed the need for robust clinical evidence to guide regulatory, reimbursement and procurement decisions for new medical technologies.
He said medical innovations must ultimately translate into healthcare that is affordable, accessible and sustainable, adding that evidence of clinical effectiveness was essential for assessing the cost-effectiveness and health-economic value of new technologies.
He cautioned that exemptions from evidence-generation requirements could make it difficult for innovative technologies to demonstrate their value before Health Technology Assessment (HTA), reimbursement and procurement authorities.
Participants at the session called for a framework that can support the adoption of innovative medical technologies while ensuring efficient use of healthcare resources.
The discussion highlighted the need for credible clinical evidence, transparent HTA processes, realistic pricing, sustainable reimbursement mechanisms, greater involvement of clinicians and stronger training systems to facilitate wider adoption of innovative technologies.
Industry-government dialogue on MedTech growth
The CEO roundtable provided a platform for senior government officials and industry leaders to discuss ways to strengthen India’s medical device ecosystem, promote investment and innovation and enhance domestic manufacturing capabilities.
The discussions also focused on creating conditions that would enable Indian medical device companies to expand their global footprint.
The event brought together senior officials from the Departments of Pharmaceuticals, Health Research, Health and Family Welfare and Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, along with representatives of NITI Aayog, the National Health Authority, FICCI and leading MedTech companies.
The knowledge paper underlined that coordinated action among the government, regulators, healthcare providers, payers, industry and academia will be essential for India to move from experimentation to large-scale, responsible deployment of AI in healthcare.
With the convergence of digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence and a growing domestic medical device manufacturing base, the discussions at India Medical Device 2026 underscored the government’s push to position India as a competitive and innovation-driven global MedTech hub.
