Patience & Perseverance to Build a Strong Healthcare Ecosystem

By Anamika Sahu, Managing Editor, siliconindia  |  Thursday, 10 September 2020, 19:00 IST

Innovation is an invincible part of any sector and healthcare is no different. However, certain basic components of the medical equipment remain same, undisturbed for decades. Vinod Ramnani, Director, Opto Circuits (India) Ltd. (BSE: 532391; NSE: OPTOCIRCUI) believes this and says that the entire innovation and upgraded products are all built on these basic components. This 65-year old healthcare veteran speaks to me to disclose further on the health of the healthcare industry & medical equipment and how the sector can become aatmanirbhar. 
The past few months witnessed a tremendous rise in the demand for medical equipment. Do you think the medical equipment industry was prepared for this sudden influx of demand?
Our industry has good future but unfortunately, even going forward, I see a lot of equipment or raw materials being imported from different countries. Why? Because we do not have too much of raw materials available within our own country. The supply chain will take some time before the cargo and others start functioning properly and hence importing at this time remains a challenge. Indeed, this a very huge opportunity for medical companies especially in patient monitoring and oxygen sensors. But the hurdle still remains the supply chain. 
What other challenges did the medical equipment industry face?
Things haven’t opened up properly and while some places are still open with restricted move, it is not really going full throttle. Hence the industry is facing a lot of hurdles in the process. I am sure that when things are back to normal, the demand is going to increase; particularly if you talk about Make in India, then we have a very good potential for the export as well as the domestic market. 
How long is it going to take healthcare industry in India to become aatmanirbhar? 
It depends on how fast other industries that support medical equipment industry becomes self-reliant. For instance, if I have to make a monitor, I still have to buy a lot of parts/raw materials from other countries as they are not available locally or domestically. So even today, we have to rely too much on other countries. We have to start from the grassroots. 
As Rome wasn’t built in a day, so will this. It is a process that will take some time before we are quite independent. Hence patience is the key, but constant efforts are the wheel that will drive us to success. However, we can start with small things and then make it large, such as making India the assembling hub of medical equipment. 
Is the government working along with the industry to fix this? 
Government is coming up with policies. But that alone will not help. People should be ready to invest in other industries that support the medical equipment industry. It is a catch and release situation for everybody in the ecosystem. 
What is your expectation from the government? 
They should open up their policies and make it even stronger. They should promote even the small companies to produce in India and thus discourage importing stuffs from various countries. For an instance, we still import medial cables from China, which we as a nation are able to produce here but the sorry state is that we are still not prepared. Even if we look at domestically made products, the costs are approximately twice of that of the imports. 
How can the industry can look at this cost structuring to make it more affordable?
It’s too simple. We don’t have to buy anything from China but the raw materials can easily be made in India with all the required approvals needed from all the bodies. So we need to encourage the industry to look beyond the cost first and start purchasing from the Indian companies, with all required approvals and compliances in place, with the warranty and guarantee in place. Even the government hospitals should purchase from the domestic manufacturers while the tenders should be open for them widely. This will surely give a boost to the Make in India initiative. 
Once the plinth is set, we can easily build a strong infrastructure of various products at affordable costs.
The amalgamation of technologies like AI, ML, IoT, robotics and others are going to be a huge game changer for the entire healthcare industry including equipment manufacturers. How do you see the industry moving forward? 
It is a welcoming step where they will add value to the existing technologies and equipment, but they will not change the way traditional equipment work. The basic equipment and diagnostic systems will remain unchanged even in the times to come. Technologies like robotics will help in surgery in the future but again the surgery will be integrated with the parameters of the body. What is also important is the use of data generated during the surgery and how it is utilized to make the surgeries of the future more efficient. 
What are some transformations happening in the medical equipment industry?
The high-end medical equipment will surely see huge innovation and integration of technology into it, but the basic equipment and functionality will remain same though the design, the centralized monitoring systems and others will change as per the need of the hour. We have been making basic medical equipment since past 25 years and there has been no change in the design or functionality, and will remain so till the body and its basic function requirement will remain same.
India still needs to go a long way to reach its counterparts when it comes to filing patents in the medical sector. How according to you should the industry and the academia work together to fill in this gap? 
You rightly said India needs to go a long way! We need to start teaching our students the importance of patents and how that will add value to their entire research, work and profile. It isn’t that India doesn’t have intellectuals. There are several sharp minds around us but they have to be given enough opportunities and see what they can do. Fortunately they are getting good opportunities now.
However, we need to continuously encourage the young lot to keep innovating and filing patents.   
Are you working along with any government bodies to train the youth and mentor the startups? 
I am not really associated with any organization, but there are lot of distinct gaps such as infrastructure, power, transportation and others that still lack far behind countries like China. However, with China losing the global trust, it is a good opportunity for India to become a medical equipment manufacturing hub and attract global players to establish their companies here. 
Though this is under process but it should start immediately. The opportunity shouldn’t be left to reap later. We will lose the game. 
What is the one thing that keeps you going even at the age of 65? 
During the tough times, your energy level needs to go up. The more problems you face, the more you expand your vision and power than even what you can think of. I always believe that if there is a problem, there will be a solution. But the question is how do we reach the solution? While some people reach there fast, some takes time but this is the way to look up at things. Of course, in the process you may lose something or gain some but your instinct is what will keep you going.
What do you love to do in your free time? 
Listen to Hindi music and songs of actors like Dev Anand & Dilip Kumar. 
Your favorite song?
All the songs of the movie Guide. 
Your favorite travel destination? 
I like travelling places within India, whether its small towns or cities, go there a couple of days and enjoy the local cuisine, culture and music. 
Favorite food? 
I like eating at the roadside stalls when I travel. The kachoris taste sold in these shops just bring your childhood back.
Favorite cuisine? 
Indian
 
  
      
 

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