The PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) recently organised the Pharma Med HD conference at PHD House, New Delhi. Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, said that the government is putting together an accessible and affordable healthcare ecosystem for the citizens of the country. The government is coming up with certain initiatives like a pharma research policy to uplift industry-academia linkages to magnify research in this area which will bring immediate solutions to the problems.

Dr Ram Sewak Sharma, CEO, National Health Authority, briefed about some important uses and benefits of schemes and applications made for an affordable healthcare system. He talked about Unified Health Interface which is created for teleconsultation, record management; data sharing and also it will help a person to find a particular doctor or any drug through a verified registry of doctors and drugs respectively.

Pradeep Multani, President, PHDCCI, mentioned that the healthcare industry in India is projected to reach $372 billion by 2022 consisting of hospitals, medical devices, clinical trials, outsourcing, telemedicine, medical tourism, health insurance, and medical equipment. Several factors are driving the growth of the Indian healthcare sector including an ageing population, a growing middle class, the rising proportion of lifestyle diseases, an increased emphasis on public-private partnerships as well an accelerated adoption of digital technologies, including telemedicine, besides heightened interest from investors and increased FDI inflows over the last two decades.

Saurabh Sanyal, Secretary-General, PHDCCI, presented a formal vote of thanks and deliberated the session in session in which he said that as India heads toward its centenary year of independence, it is time to reflect on the past milestones and chart out a roadmap for the future growth of the Indian healthcare sector.