NITI Aayog Member Dr. Vinod K. Paul will inaugurate MTaI MedTekon 2018 in New Delhi on 20th September as industry leaders come together to envision the role of MedTech industry in the implementation of Ayushman Bharat, formally known as Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY).

Officials from government hospitals, insurers, patients, MedTech industry are to come together to envision the role of MedTech industry in the implementation of Ayushman Bharat, formally known as Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY).

Dr. Paul is Head of Department of Pediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, since 1985. Prof. Paul has been closely associated with India's reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health programs in various roles for over three decades. He is member of NITI Aayog since August 2017.

The seminar will also have the presence of Mr. Indu Bhushan, Chief Executive Officer of Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission and National Health Agency (NHA), along with representatives of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Indian Alliance of Patients' Group, Insurance companies, PE Funds, private hospitals and diagnostic industry.

Foreign delegates will share the global experience of implementing similar healthcare programmes in their countries. The former undersecretary, Department of Health, Govt. of Philippines, Dr. Teodoro J Herbosa, who played a key role in rolling out Philippines Public Healthcare Programme has also confirmed his presence to share his country's experience with the policymakers of India.

This is the first seminar where representatives spanning the entire medical technology sector will be present to talk about Ayushman Bharat, which indicates the importance the MedTech industry attaches to this pathbreaking programme. Industry Captains from different MedTech associations will huddle together to plan how they can unitedly contribute to the successful implementation of Ayushman Bharat.

The government is launching Ayushman Bharat on 25th September to finance secondary and tertiary healthcare in the country. The scheme will provide health insurance worth Rs. 5 lakh per household and will cover 50 crore people or nearly 40% of India's population.

During MTaI MedTekon 2018, MTaI will unveil a theme paper entitled "MedTech - The Keystone for Ayushman Bharat" that would define the challenges and opportunities in implementing the scheme. "Ayushman Bharat is the largest public healthcare scheme in the world. Given the scale of implementation, it is extremely important that all stakeholders should be in sync with the programme objective and implementation roadmap. At the same time, it is necessary that concerns of all stakeholders are addressed. MTaI MedTekon 2018 will bring together all stakeholders for a day of constructive discussion," MedTekon Chairman Mr. Badhri Iyengar said.

Medical Technology Association of India (MTaI - pronounced as Em-tai) is a not-for-profit organization duly registered under sub-section (2) of section 7 of the Companies Act, 2013 and Rule 8 of the Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014.

MTaI is an association of research-based medical technology companies who have made remarkable investments in Manufacturing, R&D and Health Care Workers Training in India. MTaI represents a wide spectrum of the medical device industry with global experience in innovation and manufacturing. All the time stressing on the three hallmarks of healthcare - Quality, Consistency and Patient Safety, MTaI wants to be a responsible voice of the industry. The association is committed to improving access to affordable and quality healthcare for patients.

MTaI looks to partner with the Government of India in setting a roadmap for the growth of medical devices sector by bringing in even bigger investments in this sector, through 'Make in India' and through technology upgradation and dissemination in the provider space.