Domestic med-tech companies flag security threat from Chinese devices

Time of India

4 days ago

Indian medical tech leaders have voiced concerns to the government regarding the security risks associated with importing Chinese healthcare devices. They highlighted potential misuse for surveillance, cyberattacks, and data breaches, urging stricter scrutiny and measures to prevent rerouting via other countries. Manufacturers also seek streamlined regulations and policy support to boost domestic production and achieve self-reliance.
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New Delhi: India's medical tech leaders have urged the government to scrutinise imports of Chinese healthcare devices , citing security threat as these modern machines can be potentially misused for surveillance, cyberattacks and data breach.At a recent meeting with commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, domestic manufacturers raised concerns over increasing deployment of Chinese imagining and monitoring equipment in healthcare facilities across the country."Chinese products are everywhere in the market and data is going to the Chinese companies," an industry executive who attended the meeting told ET. "Medical devices are not just medical devices, they can be means of military defence."Keeping in view the gravity of the situation, the government has agreed to take up the matter at the highest level, industry executives said.Modern medical equipment such as MRI machines, pacemakers, and diagnostic devices often come with internet connectivity and cloud-based data storage. They can be used as tools in grey zone warfare. Hence, it is important not to source these products from hostile nations, manufacturers said.They also urged the government to put in place necessary checks and balances to ensure there is no re-routing of Chinese devices via other countries."Without firing a single bullet, a hostile nation can rig the devices (with bugs or malware) and use them as secret weapons," a second executive said."Population health data can be misused by Chinese firms using Chinese-owned medical devices, especially IoT (internet of things)-enabled imagining and monitoring equipment," the person said. "A lot of such equipment is installed in the country."Some countries have already banned imports of medical equipment from certain countries and companies, device manufacturers said.They also flagged issues regarding indirect dumping of Chinese products via transit countries such as Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore or other countries that have a free trade agreement (FTA) with India.The US is the dominant supplier of medical equipment to India, with an estimated 18% share (shipping devices worth ₹12,552 crore in 2023-24), China is a close second with 16.4% share (₹11,506 crore in FY24).In the meeting early this month, Indian medical device manufacturers and exporters also highlighted challenges they face, including high regulatory costs, long approval timelines, and a lack of focused product strategy. "Streamlining regulatory processes and enhancing policy support are seen as essential steps to revive growth and move towards a self-reliant Atmanirbhar Bharat," said an executive who attended the meeting.Rajiv Nath, forum coordinator at Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD), urged the government to act on the six strategy frameworks announced in the National Medical Devices Policy, 2023, aimed at making India a global manufacturing hub. This is crucial "considering the potential adverse impact of US trade negotiations seeking duty reductions for their medical devices" as part of the proposed India-US bilateral trade pact, he said.