Trivitron JVs with intl cos. to set up India's first Medical Technology Park (MTP)

Trivitron, which plans to convert the park into a SEZ to avail of tax benefits, said that for the first time, India will begin manufacturing medical technology equipments. While, all other related fields focusing on medical technology have developed in India, presently, most medical instruments are still being imported due to lack of high-quality cost-effective home-grown branded products. Manufacturing the products in India for domestic use would reduce their prices by 30-50 percent, Velu claimed.

"India is 30 years behind (global standards) in high-end medical equipment. Imagine where does a patient have to lie for at least five minutes under low-frequency X-ray machine to get a proper image- Now digital X-ray machines made in India will just need 20 seconds for the purpose," Velu said, adding that India would emulate the success of China, which a decade ago, was importing medical equipments and now is one of the world's largest maker and exporter of medical equipments.

The MTP will have an electronics and electro-mechanical manufacturing unit for production of various medical technology products, including ultrasound scanners and color dopplers, operation theater lights, operation tables, ventilators and other breathing apparatus, infusion and syringe pumps, clinical laboratory equipments and neonatology equipments.

The Park will also house a state-of-the-art diagnostics reagents manufacturing unit for full-fledged production of hematology reagents, clinical chemistry reagents and immuno-turbidimentry reagents.

A medical consumables manufacturing unit for large-scale production of anesthesia consumables, catheters and blood lines and tubings is also slated to come up.

While the foreign JV partners would bring in high-end medical equipments, Trivitron has acquired some Indian manufacturing companies whose facilities would be upgraded for making low-end medical equipments that would meet international standards.