Medical tourism can spin a dollar dream

It is tourism with a difference: healthcare or medical tourism. This is an area that Indian can have an edge in provided it is developed well. According to a McKinskey report, medical tourism can fetch up to $2bn. However, for the sector to take off, there needs to be a drastic improvement in infrastructure and better promotion of India as a medical destination. Ficci has chalked out areas on which both the government and the private sector need to work on if medical tourism is to take off in India.

India turns to Gulf to sell healthcare services

With UK failing to live up to initial promise of a fertile ground for attracting patients for Indian healthcare service providers, attention is now shifting to the Middle East. A CII delegation of top corporate hospitals in the country will soon be off to Abu Dhabi and Dubai to sell India's healthcare services and clinch business.

Hindustan Latex, Chinese co in JV for contraceptives

In yet another example of growing cooperation between India and China, state-run firms from both countries are joining hands to promote family planning in the world's most populous nations. 

Virtual autopsies may replace need for scalpels one day

Chicago: In the not-too-distance future, autopsies might be performed using computerised scanning rather that scalpels if research led by a Swiss forensic pathologist bears fruit.

India set to become a global hub

After information technology, bio-technology may be the next sector that the global market will identify India with. Bio-technology is not only proving to be of tremendous help to the agriculture sector, but, the pharmaceutical sector is also gearing up to match the global inclination towards bio-tech products.

Healthcare just got an energy shot

Call the doctor, he's well within earshot. When and X-ray appears fuzzy, or a diagnosis is too skeletal, there's a whole aid kit waiting to be dug into right here.

Budget Impact on Pharma

The impact on pharmaceutical companies appears slightly positive as overall importers are around 10-11% of total sales. Import duty on bulk and intermediates has been cut to 20%, form 25%. So, companies will be gainers of 50-60bp of sales or 2-3% of net profits. In some cases, it will have to be passed on to the consumer. But those companies, whose sales are through exports and enjoy duty entitlement pass book benefits and are derived form export oriented units, won't have a major positive impact. The duty on specified life saving bulk drugs, formulations, medical equipment, which has been reduced to 5%, will have a slight positive impact on companies as these drugs account for less than 2% of overall sales of the industry.

Penny Pinches

Why do life saving procedures cost a bomb? The rising costs of quality healthcare pinch hard, especially when given the general income levels in the country. While choosing where you want to get treated, knowing what you are paying for can make the decision less painful. From an individual's point of view, it is prudent to know why some hospitals charge more and some less, before deciding where you want to go under the scalpel.

India Excels with software for handicapped

Product launchers are par for the course at information technology fairs but you don't expect anything spectacular at a sarkari show where ministers gather to talk what ministers talks about IT. But the Asia IT ministers' second summit here produced a few surprise: At the inaugural session, Union IT Minister Arun Shourie presented to the delegates some stunning software tools developed in some state owned R&B labs in India: a translation and search combination that can deliver an answer to an SMS query in Hindi, software for the visually handicapped.

India Inc needs 'next practices': CK Prahlad

Indian Corporate sector needs to adopt strategies in corporating 'Next practices' to enhance competitiveness, as implementation of best practices by all companies would only result in the formation of mediocre firms, observed Dr. C K Prahlad, Harvey C. Fruehauf Professor of business administration at the University of Michigan Business School.

Pharmaexcil action plan to be in by April

Pharma bodies of the likes of the Bulk Drug Manufacturers Association (BDMA), Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI), Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA), and Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA), are gearing up to draw an action plan for commencing the operations of Pharmaexcil by April this year.

Medical part cos to benefit from expansion in health sector

The healthcare sector which is witnessing rapid expansion, on account of grant of industry status and a surge in medical insurance business, is likely to fuel the demand for medical equipment manufacturers. Based on this premise, the equipment majors of the likes of Siemens, GE and Kodak, have started networking with healthcare companies which have drawn ambitious plans to expand. "The grant of industry status and opening up medical insurance business is just the beginning. The greater picture will emerge later since the government is taking special efforts to promote India as a global healthcare destination. There is enough room for equipment manufacturers like us to grow," D Ragavan, executive vice president, medical solutions, Siemens, told ET.