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Indian pharma and healthcare sectors have sought big boost for green energy efficiency and digital therapeutics reimbursement. These are the advances in the pandemic phase.
Energy efficiency in pharma is core to reduce costs at production plants, R&D centres along with other related operations, marketing and administration.
As India stands at the precipice of rapid growth post the pandemic with its green restart strategies, all eyes are set on the manufacturing sector to spearhead this growth and the move towards sustainability, said Ravichandran Purushothaman, president, Danfoss India.
With the country’s fight against Climate Change including the recent ratification of Kigali agreement and our strong position on adopting sustainable solutions in the HVAC sector, it is crucial that the 2022 Union Budget provides the industry with increased budget allocation to develop sustainable cooling solutions and well-connected cold chain infrastructure across the country. The additional funds will also help create training programs for various industry stakeholders to promote the research, production and use of natural & low GWP refrigerants that can contribute to India’s self-sufficient green economic growth, he added.
Dr Arbinder Singal, co-founder and CEO, Fitterfly pointed out "India needs to gear up to create more awareness and device engaging ways to empower people to develop healthy habits that can prevent diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, etc. Increasing allocation to the healthcare sector, especially clinically-validated digital therapeutic solutions is essential. The Government should also start thinking on devising policies for reimbursement for digital therapeutics.”
An increase in budgetary outlay towards healthcare, particularly in developing infrastructure surrounding the healthcare sector is a necessity evident from our pandemic learnings. Better indoor air quality, green comfort and energy efficiency in hospitals, smart precision cooling for pharma & lab facilities, fresh & safe food & drink etc. will be important as our growing population faces new challenges in coming years, said Purushothaman.
2022 budget must also look at incentivising recyclability of manufactured goods which helps promote circular thinking. Renewable energy and decarbonization incentives along with recyclability incentives can collectively help India get closer to its net zero goals. Overall, India’s development proposals in all sectors should be planned with sustainability at its core, to ensure a better tomorrow for our future generations,” said Purushothaman.
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