









































J Global Clinical Engineering Vol.5 Issue 1, 2022  2

Editor’s  Corner
A Public-Private Medical Technology Model – 

India Case Study

The medical device development landscape has changed 
significantly post COVID. The pandemic has put the med-
ical technology sector in top gear, pushing industries to 
innovate, develop, and manufacture products quickly. 
Countries like India have witnessed tremendous growth 
in the health technology sector, fueled by an exponential 
rise in government health allocation each year. One of the 
most significant efforts towards furthering medical device 
development has been the establishment of the Andhra 
Pradesh Medical Technology Zone (AMTZ).

AMTZ is India’s first and one of the world’s largest 
medical technology manufacturing cluster with over 100 
companies working on research, development, and pro-
duction of life-saving medical devices. It is India’s premier 
medical technology park with Common Manufacturing 
Facilities & Common Scientific Facilities, including spe-
cialized laboratories, warehousing, and testing centers. 
The Center for Electromagnetic Compatibility and Safety 
Testing, Center for Biomaterial Testing, Center for 3-D 
Printing, Centers for Lasers, MRI Super Conducting Mag-
nets, Gamma Irradiation Centre, Mold & Machining Centre, 
among many others, have played a key role in accelerating 
product development. This cluster of scientific facilities, 
access to raw materials, critical component supply chain 
within the zone, trained human resources, and ready-to-
use infrastructure makes AMTZ the engine of growth for 
medical technology globally.

In the nation’s battle against the pandemic, AMTZ con-
tributed by producing over 100 ventilators, 500 oxygen 
concentrators, and 1 million RT PCR kits every day. In 
addition, many innovations from AMTZ, such as mobile 
container hospitals, mobile RTPCR vehicles, and mobile 
oxygen plants, were sent to even the most remote parts 
of the country. Built-in a record time of 342 days, AMTZ 

showcases modern India as a leader in the global medical 
technology stage.

AMTZ works to reduce the cost of manufacturing up 
to 40%, simplify the end-to-end operations, and reduce 
import dependency, which is presently around 75%. 
Furthermore, it believes in creating and operating an eco-
system that boosts innovations and supports affordable 
manufacturing scale-up, allowing technology accessible 
to every citizen globally.

The Kalam Institute of Health Technology (KIHT) at 
AMTZ has recently been designated as India’s first WHO 
collaborating Centre (WHO-CC) for innovations. The 
WHO-CC will work directly with WHO headquarters to 
further health innovations and innovative technologies 
towards rapid development and global deployment.

Another essential element to success is the availability 
of a workforce that can be readily integrated into indus-
trial design, development, and manufacturing. AMTZ 
understands that as India’s medical sector experiences 
unprecedented growth, there is a strong demand for a 
dynamic, skilled, and capable workforce and a need for a 
new paradigm in training and development. Fortunately, 
the interdisciplinary nature of medical technology allows 
engineering professionals from the conventional domains 
of mechanical, electrical & electronics, instrumentation, and 
computer science, to specialize as biomedical engineers 
and fill the enormous vacuum domestically and globally. 

Currently, the demand for a master’s level program in 
India for Medical Technology far outweighs the limited 
options available. Recognizing this shortage, AMTZ is 
partnering with Skill-Lync to launch the country’s first 
“Executive PG Program in Medical Technology.” This will 
be a one-of-a-kind program that will offer students a 
flexible pedagogy, integrating online and offline learning 
through solid industry collaboration. 

http://www.globalce.org
http://www.globalce.org


3 J Global Clinical Engineering Vol.5 Issue 1, 2022

During the first 6 months, students will be offered 9 
fundamental courses in a self-paced online environment 
in the Skill-Lync platform. Then, for the next 6 months, 
students will be engaged in taking coursework related to 
a specialization of their choice while undergoing hands-on 
training at the various medical device manufacturing 
facilities in AMTZ. This will provide the students with 
first-hand exposure to product design, development, and 
manufacturing while studying. 

During the final lap of the program, the students will 
take a certification exam and get skill-certified by Indian 
Biomedical Skill Council (IBSC). The IBSC is yet another 
notable initiative of AMTZ established jointly with the 
Association of Indian Medical Manufacturers of Medi-
cal Devices (AiMeD), under the support of the Quality 
Council of India (QCI), to provide a certification system 
for biomedical engineers in the country who serve as the 
backbone of the healthcare services. Furthermore, it aims 
at strengthening the Biomedical Skill Sector in the country 
and, with this objective, develop job roles supported by 
the National Skill Development Agency (NSDA) under the 
Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE).

The current VUCA environment requires continuous 
adaptation and assessment of learning paradigms to ca-
ter to industry requirements. Therefore, AMTZ strongly 
feels that this new foray into online learning combined 
with practical industry exposure will help create the ideal 
workforce.

We all know too well how much loss of life, suffering, 
ending family’s livelihood and disrupted bread earnings 
routine this Pandemic caused. However, this necessitated 
forward-thinking, innovation, and capturing of unique new 
public-private collaborations that were not achievable 
previously. I focused on this India case study, but other 
initiatives hopefully are taking place around the world. I 
am looking forward to hearing from you about your local 
situation and will be happy to respond to comments and 
questions relating to our successful model.

The Author wishes to place on record, with sincere 
gratitude, the support received from Yadin David, Tom 
Judd, and a very large family of global clinical engineering 
leaders.

Together we are making it better!
Dr. Jitendra Sharma

Copyright © 2021. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY): Creative Commons - 
Attribution 4.0 International - CC BY 4.0. The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright 
owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction 
is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

http://www.globalce.org
http://www.globalce.org

