The company’s new initiative to boost local manufacturing under PLI Scheme
Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) welcomes Wipro GE Healthcare’s decision as it will help in the growth ESDM industry
The investment is a greenfield facility and is one of 15 medical device manufacturers approved under the government’s PLI Scheme towards Atmanirbhar Bharat
Bengaluru, NFAPost: Wipro GE Healthcare, a leading global medical technology and digital solutions innovator, announced the launch of its new manufacturing facility in Bengaluru, under the Indian government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme.
The new plant, Wipro GE Medical Device Manufacturing factory (MDM), is aligned to the National Agenda of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and will further boost local manufacturing of medical devices in India.
The Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) is at the forefront of enabling a global ESDM ecosystem in Karnataka and has welcomed the first association of its Partner in Progress for Electronics, System, Design, and Manufacturing (ESDM) Programme through the inauguration of Wipro GE Healthcare’s medical devices manufacturing plant.
The plant is a 100% subsidiary of Wipro GE Healthcare and has been set up as a greenfield legal entity. The company has invested a little over INR100 crore in this facility.
A 35000 sq ft facility, the MDM factory is set up for 24/7 operations for manufacturing CT machines, cath lab equipment, ultrasound scanners, patient monitoring solutions, ECG machines and ventilators. It is equipped with automated testers to assess the performance of medical devices. This facility currently has 35 employees on its shopfloor which is expected to increase to 100 in the next 2 to 3 years.
Wipro GE Healthcare and Wipro Enterprises Chairman Azim Premji said India is on an accelerated growth path in gaining global prominence for medical devices manufacturing.
“Wipro GE Healthcare’s new factory, with support from the government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, will aid the health ecosystem in India to realize its true potential in addressing local and global challenges for healthcare providers,” said Wipro GE Healthcare and Wipro Enterprises Chairman Azim Premji.
Atmanirbhar Bharat
Commenting on the launch, Wipro GE Healthcare Managing Director Dr. Shravan Subramanyam said the new facility is a testament to the company’s continued commitment to an Atmanirbhar Bharat and is a step forward in elevating India’s capability as a global manufacturing hub.
“We applaud the government’s initiatives towards making India self-reliant. The new draft of the National Medical Devices Policy 2022 provides further impetus towards empowering India’s healthcare ecosystem, and we at Wipro GE Healthcare are very optimistic about the future of MedTech in India,” said Wipro GE Healthcare Managing Director Dr. Shravan Subramanyam.
Expressing happiness over the development, Karnatka Minister of Information Technology – Biotechnology, Higher Education, Science and Technology of Karnataka C N Ashwath Narayan in his virtual address said the Karnataka state government congratulates Wipro GE Healthcare for its contribution towards boosting local manufacturing and generating employment in the local communities.
“Through our Karnataka Digital Economy Mission, we will provide continued support to the company’s efforts towards augmenting the ESDM sector and providing a fillip to the region’s digital economy,” said Karnataka Minister of Information Technology – Biotechnology, Higher Education, Science and Technology of Karnataka C N Ashwath Narayan.
Local innovation
GE BEL Managing Director and ISC, South Asia General Manager Mahesh Kapri said the country’s import dependency for medical devices stands at 75-80%, and for India to rise the ranks as the leading MedTech devices market, local innovation & production is pivotal.
“We are confident that our new factory will contribute meaningfully to India’s self-reliance goal and will accelerate India’s profile on the global product development map,” said GE BEL Managing Director and ISC, South Asia General Manager Mahesh Kapri.
Addressing those gathered at the inauguration, Karnataka Department of Electronics, IT BT S&T Additional Chief Secretary Dr E V Ramana Reddy said Karnataka has always led the country’s technological progress.
“Policy initiatives at the central and state level have additionally encouraged the growth of the ESDM sector along with the growing demand for superior technology products. Industry 4.0 and the medical devices sector is heavily dependent on India’s electronics and manufacturing capabilities and creating a suitable ecosystem to foster this growth will take the nation far ahead,” said Karnataka Department of Electronics, IT BT S&T Additional Chief Secretary Dr E V Ramana Reddy.
He also pointed out that initiatives such as these by Wipro GE Healthcare reflect their commitment towards making the state a pivot for innovation and growth.
“The industry’s acceptance of KDEM’s ESDM-led programs is a positive sign towards building the state’s IT and ESDM sector and taking it to a global platform,” said Karnataka Department of Electronics, IT BT S&T Additional Chief Secretary Dr E V Ramana Reddy.
Partner in Progress programme
Sharing his thoughts on the inauguration of the unit, Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) Chairman B V Naidu said the KDEM has always strived to focus on innovation, skill development, identify and nurture talent in the start-up and ESDM space in clusters of Karnataka.
“We believe that the state has immense drive and hunger to learn, innovate and contribute significantly to the nation’s growth. When we launched our Partner in Progress programme, the overwhelming response received by industry leaders was a reassurance of our commitment of building a strong ESDM ecosystem in Karnataka,” said KDEM Chairman B V Naidu.
KDEM Chairman B V Naidu also said today’s inauguration of the new manufacturing unit of Wipro GE Healthcare is the first partner in the programme is a step towards enhancing this ecosystem while building a nurturing platform for a very able capable and diverse workforce.
Speaking on KDEM’s contribution to nurturing a strong talent pool in the ESDM space, KDEM Chief Executive Officer Sanjeev Gupta said KDEM’s Partner in Progress for ESDM was an important step in pledging its commitment to making Karnataka a global hub for ESDM and Wipro GE Healthcare was one of the first partners in leading the charge for this.
“With its landmark project of a manufacturing plant for medical devices with a focus on diversity, is an important milestone in recognising the nation’s diverse talent force and their exceptional capabilities,” said KDEM Chief Executive Officer Sanjeev Gupta.
KDEM Chief Executive Officer Sanjeev Gupta also said KDEM is extremely happy to partner with the industry think tank to take the Beyond Bengaluru vision to the next level that will impact and ignite the next wave of development in India.
Knowledge bridge
The KDEM is a special entity set up to strengthen the digital economy in Karnataka. It is a first-of-its-kind organization designed to function as the knowledge bridge between the Government of Karnataka and industry with a view of accelerating the growth and investments of the ESDM, IT, BT, and S&T sectors in the state.
KDEM’s efforts to scale the growth of the electronics, system, design and manufacturing (ESDM) industry has received wide acceptance from the industry. 18 large corporations have given their Letter of Intent (LoI) so far to set up operations in the state. This comes at a time when the Government of India recently announced its semiconductor policy to promote the manufacturing of semiconductor chips in the country.
The Government of Karnataka projects the Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM)sector to yield more than 20% of regional GDP by 2025. The state government has been shaping its digital economy with new policies in the IT, ER&D, ESDM, and Skill Development sectors.
Wipro GE Healthcare’s new facility promotes the ESDM sector in Karnataka and is in sync with the state government’s goal to build up the digital economy for the world through state-of-the-art medical devices made in India.
With an objective to increase the share of Digital economy in the state, the Government of Karnataka set up the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM), a Section-8 organization, which acts as a knowledge bridge between the industry and the government. To meet the objectives, KDEM has been working towards the five focus areas, viz. IT Products & Services, BPM & GCC promotion; Innovations & Start-ups; ESDM; Beyond Bengaluru; and Talent Accelerator.
