Visakhapatnam: Jitendar Kumar Sharma is managing director and CEO of Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone Ltd (AMTZ), a zone dedicated to the manufacture of medical devices. The AMTX is hosting the fourth WHO Global Forum on Medical Devices, which is scheduled to begin here on Thursday.TOI met with Sharma to get a read on the AMTZ and the WHO event. Excerpts:What is the status of the Indian medical device manufacturing industry vis-à-vis the developed countries? Where does India lag behind and what is the potential growth rate for the sector?Indian medical device manufacturing industry is in its nascent stage. Even today we import needles and syringes. Keeping this in mind, the potential growth rate ie CAGR is 14%.What is the monetary value of the Indian medical devices manufacturing industry? How many companies operate in India and how many people are employed in the sector?The monetary value of the industry is about US$ 5.7 billion, which is barely 1.2% of the global market. As an industry, we are very small and the size of the skilled workforce is negligible, in comparison, even with some emerging economies.How does AMTZ provide a platform to sustain the chain, right from idea generation to fruition?The AP Med-Tech Zone is creating an ecosystem to provide a unique go-to platform for start-ups as well as existing manufacturers. We have two incubators, the Atal Innovation Centre and the Bio-Valley, the former for core med-tech devices and the latter for associated technology. We have 17 start-ups using us as a base and we provide them access to the entire chain, right from ideating to patenting and manufacturing.We are also aiming at creating an employment base of 24,000 people and we are targeting a real potential of 280 companies.Why has AMTZ been chosen as the venue for such a specialised event by the WHO and what kind of an impact will it have on the industry in India and AP in particular?We want delegates from all over the world to see in real-time the work happening here. We also want them to appreciate its potential and it would be a major boost to the industry in AP and Vizag in particular.What would be the focus of the meet?Answer: The focus would be on promoting India as a technology provider to emerging economies across the globe, especially in Africa and Latin America.

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