Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Hon’ble Minister of State Electronics & IT and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Govt. of India inaugurated MedTech Centre of Entrepreneurship established at Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI), Lucknow.
MedTech – A Centre of Entrepreneurship (CoE) in Medial Electronics & Health Informatics is an initiative of the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), an autonomous society under the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY). This CoE at Lucknow is being set up by STPI & MeitY in collaboration with Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI), Lucknow; Department of IT & Electronics (Govt. of UP); Association of Medical Device Industry (AiMED); and Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone (AMTZ). Padamshree Dr. Saurabh Srivastava, Former Chairman of NASSCOM, Founder, Indian Angel Network has given his consent to be the Chief Mentor of MedTech CoE.
The CoE shall provide state-of-the-art facilities to startups in the field of Medi electronics and health informatics while accelerating the startup culture in the state and supporting local economy and generating employment opportunities and realising the vision of the government on Naye Absar, Naye Bharat Ka Naya Uttar Pradesh, Digital India Ka Digital Utar Pradesh, and Soch Imandar Kam Damdar.
While inaugurating the Centre Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Electronics and Information Technology stated, “MedTech CoE can boost cross-disciplinary application development like medical plus technology, that’s the future. The big innovations are expected from this space. The amount of works done on technology front during the last 4-5 years has helped India bring resilience during the COVID period. Today, India is the largest startup ecosystem in the world. Medical electronics has a special importance in this scenario. The combination of engineering and medical science can catalyse innovations in healthcare sector.”
He further added, “The startups & CoEs can create maximum opportunities for our youth. From Jan 2021, we are growing 2 unicorns per month. After recovering from COVID, we are the fastest growing economy. We have received the highest amount of FDI compared to the other countries in the world. When Hon’ble PM launched Digital India in 2014, he set 3 objectives i.e. technology enablement, digital economy, entrepreneurship & employment, and make India a global leader in emerging technology space. We have transformed citizens’ lives through technology usage & today if we are sending 100 rupees now, citizens are receiving the same amount in their account. These are the benefits of technology.”
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Arvind Kumar, Director General, STPI underlined, “MediTech CoE can bring a paradigm shift in research & innovation in medical electronics & health informatics sectors by providing a robust ecosystem focusing on startups and enabling them to build path-breaking products in MedTech domain while creating IPRs, boosting exports, reducing imports, and making India a global hub for manufacturing of medical electronics equipment.”
15 MedTech Startups have been selected for incubation at the MedTech Centre. These Startups are from different parts of Uttar Pradesh and some are from other states thereby positioning Uttar Pradesh as a leading state in field of emerging technologies in healthcare sector. The Centre of Entrepreneurship shall provide plug and play facilities, co-working/incubation space, High Speed Internet (500MBPS), Medi electronics & Health informatics & IoT Labs, Support on Intellectual Property Rights, Assistance for Marketing and Network Outreach amongst other facilities.
The newly built facility, in partnership with Software technology Park of India, Ministry of Electronics and IT and Government of Uttar Pradesh is strategically housed at the PGI Medical facility, providing suitable environment for the Medi electronics Startups to flourish. The Medi electronics sector is currently estimated to be at $10 billion and is expected to grow to $50 bn by 2025. There is tremendous import dependency of around 75-80 per cent. This Centre of Entrepreneurship is expected to help develop the domestic startup ecosystem in Medi electronics and help boost the AtmaNirbhar Bharat mission set by the Narendra Modi Government.
Uttar Pradesh has set new benchmarks under the Digital India initiatives. With around 21 crore Aadhar enrolment, this state is leading India’s Digital Identity programme which is touted as the World’s largest. Over 15 crore people of the state have benefitted under various Central/state government programmes leveraging Aadhar. It has facilitated Direct Benefit Transfer of benefits in accounts of beneficiaries – stemming out corruption, malpractices & ensuring ease of living for the citizens.
