
            <center>
            <p>
            <b>ASSOCHAM Southern region presents webinar on</b><br>
            <b>&quot;Modernization in Indian healthcare ecosystem&quot;</b><br>
            <b>Strategies, way forward and preparedness for pandemics</b><br>
            <b>19th January 2021 | 11:00 AM to 01:00PM</b><br>
            <b>Session notes</b></br>
            <b>Invited speakers -</b><br>
            </center>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
            <b>1. Shri. Jawaid Akhtar,</b> IAS, Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Department of Health &
            Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
             <b>.Dr. Padma Srivastava, Director,</b> National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences
            (NIMHANS), Bengaluru</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'><b>3. Mahesh Kapri, </b>Managing Director GE BEL & General Manager Supply Chain, GE Healthcare
            India</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
            4.<b> Dr. H. Sudarshan Ballal, </b>Chairman, Medical Advisory Board of Manipal Hospitals Group</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
            <b>5. Dr. Prabhakaran Dorairaj,</b> VP - Research & Policy, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI)</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
            <b>6. Dr. Hardik J Pandya</b> - Assistant Professor - Department of Electronic Systems Engineering, Indian
            Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru</p>
            <p style='text-align:justify;'>

            <b>7. Dr. Nikhil Agarwal,</b> CEO, FIRST - Foundation for Innovation & Research in Science & Technology</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
            <b>8. Dr. Venkatachalapathy, President, </b>Indian Medical Association, Karnataka Branch</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
            <b>9. Uma S Nair,</b> Regional director - Southern region, ASSOCHAM</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
            <b>Uma S Nair</b> - Welcomed the Speakers and panellists and the participants and partners to the program
            and said Lessons that we learnt from Pandemic, Modernization of Indian Healthcare Ecosystem is need of
            the hour and to face future pandemic. To deliberate on the subject theme, we at ASSOCHAM Southern
            region office is hosting this webinar on Modernization in Indian Healthcare Ecosystem partnership with
            Wipro GE Healthcare as Platinum Partner.</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
            <b>Shri. Jawaid Akhtar, IAS</b> - Thanked ASSOCHAM for hosting this important webinar and said that Karnataka
            is known to be a center of hi-tech industry, contributing significantly to the country's revenues from
            information technology, biotechnology, ESDM, aerospace and other technology sectors. Today healthcare
            industry in India comprises of hospitals, medical devices, clinical trials, outsourcing, telemedicine, medical
            tourism, health insurance and medical equipment. Growing incidence of lifestyle diseases, rising demand
            for affordable healthcare delivery systems due to the increasing healthcare costs, technological
            advancements, the emergence of telemedicine, rapid health insurance penetration and government
            initiatives like e-health together with tax benefits and incentives are driving healthcare market in India.</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
            In recent years, medical researchers are talking about the latest terms of healthcare industry such as IOT
            in healthcare, e-health, m-health, app-based diagnosis, online ambulance booking, big data analytics on
            the EMRs, promoting generic drugs, and so on.</p>
            <p style='text-align:justify;'>  In India healthcare industry is projected to reach $372 bn by 2022. The industry is growing at a tremendous
            pace owing to its strengthening coverage, services and increasing expenditure by public as well private
            players.</p>
            <p style='text-align:justify;'>  In Karnataka, the policy of trace, track, test, treat and technology (5T) was pioneered by Karnataka to fight
            the pandemic. During an interaction through the video conferencing, the Prime Minister of India,
            Narendra Modi, appreciated the state's efforts in combating the COVID-19 spread and steps taken to
            unlock the economy with the gradual relaxation of the extended lockdown norms. The centre has asked
            the other states to adopt these best practices to their local context and replicate them for better
            management of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
             Karnataka is moving towards an Inclusive Healthcare Karnataka has been using information technology
            effectively. The state has also been a pioneer in government supported health insurance schemes
            introduced by the Central and State Government. With a clear objective of taking quality healthcare to
            the doorsteps of the citizens, Karnataka has been transforming its healthcare sector with a proactive
            approach. Karnataka is among the few pioneering Indian states with a strong track record in the
            formulation of health policies.</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
            <b>Dr. H. Sudarshan Ballal</b> - Thanked ASSOCHAM for hosting this important webinar and said The Indian
            healthcare scenario presents a spectrum of contrasting landscapes. At one end of the spectrum are the
            glitzy steel and glass structures delivering high tech medicare to the well-heeled, mostly urban Indian. At
            the other end are the ramshackle outposts in the remote reaches of the &quot;other India&quot; trying desperately
            to live up to their identity as health subcenters, waiting to be transformed to shrines of health and
            wellness, a story which we will wait to see unfold. With the rapid pace of change currently being
            witnessed, this spectrum is likely to widen further, presenting even more complexity in the future.</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
             It is often said that quality, safety and efficacy of a medicine is a must. In keeping with this, Goel, said,
            &quot;There are two intertwined issues — one is how to ensure that best quality medicines are produced and
            that the integrity of the drug is maintained during the distribution process; second, how it can be ensured
            that quality medicines are affordable, so that they can be accessed when needed. The first issue requires
            strengthening of quality standards and their strict implementation so that there are no two different
            quality of drugs — one for the developed regulated market, and the other, for the Indian market. To
            address the second issue, it is important to make quality generic drugs available to patients. Government
            and some startups have taken steps in this direction by opening a chain of retail pharmacies which
            dispense only quality generic drugs at a fraction of the cost.&quot;<br>
            India is currently experiencing a digital revolution. Healthcare too is witnessing a digital transformation.
            Leveraging digital technologies can certainly strengthen healthcare delivery in India, opine these experts.
            &quot;Digital technologies are driving greater efficiency in healthcare delivery. Electronic Medical Record
            (EMR), the digital version of physical medical record, for instance, is playing a crucial role in optimizing
            patient care by ensuring continuity and aiding information sharing across caregivers (hospital, diagnostic
            lab, pharmacy, etc). It replicates existing processes digitally with different degrees of automation,</p> 
            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
             reasonable process optimization and operational management information system (MIS), which
            otherwise is labor-intensive and prone to human error.</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
            <b>Dr. Padma Srivastava</b> - Thanked ASSOCHAM for hosting this important webinar and said the impact of
            digital technology and artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML)-driven change will scale up.
            Technology giants are locked in a trillion-dollar battle to win share in the public cloud and to retain
            consumer mindshare and engagement. As a result, they are investing billions of R&D dollars into their
            platforms to create services easily usable across a range of customers and for a range of applications (for
            example, predictive analytics) that accelerate innovation.</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
              The Indian government&apos;s &apos;Make in India&apos; initiative is encouraging domestic manufacture of medical
            devices and helping lower the prices patients pay for products such as stents and implants, which in the
            past were imported. At the same time, in India the policy environment and regulators need to
            accommodate technological interventions such as the growth of online pharmacies with the requisite
            controls in place, according to the panelists. Health care innovation in India could serve as a global model
            for a shift from treating the sick to preventive care and wellness, given the size of its underserved  populations.</p>
            
            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
             Health care has the potential to lead to economic growth and to provide employment, but it also is a
            crucial sector in terms of protecting the health and the wealth of the nation </p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
            <b>Mahesh Kapri</b> - Thanked ASSOCHAM for hosting this important webinar and said Medical technology
            is one industry where change is the only constant and the pandemic has presented the perfect
            opportunity for innovations in the industry to be brought forth. The country's medtech industry is
            currently at crossroads owing to the global crisis. With that as a backdrop, let us take a look at how the
            pandemic has fast-tracked the growth of the Indian medtech industry.</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
             The pandemic brought with it countless restrictions and supply chains across the world took a major hit,
            adversely impacting the import and export of critical medical equipment. As a consequence, the medical
            industry was confronted with innumerable challenges since a majority of healthcare facilities relied on
            imported medical equipment to provide adequate care to patients, paving the way for the industry to
            realise the importance of home-grown products.</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
             The Covid-19 pandemic situation was initially challenging in India with a dense population and highly
            import dependent Indian medical devices sector. Pushing the Indian medical devices sector to become
            self-reliant or Atmanirbhar Bharat, the Government of India through its flagship &quot;Make in India&quot; initiative
            relied heavily on the Indian manufacturers to meet the surged demand of essential healthcare equipment</p>.

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
             The Prime Minister&apos;s call for Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India), is just the right step for our domestic
            manufacturing. A self-reliant India would mean the country reducing its dependence on imports by
            focusing on &apos;Make in India&apos;. Self-reliance means strengthening the country's competitive power in the
            long run. The natural evolution of any economy has been from an agricultural state to an industrialized
            nation to further becoming a service dominated nation. Atmanirbhar Bharat can help us regain the lost
            ground of industrialisation.</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
             The MedTech industry is also highly import dependent on other countries for raw materials and now is
            the right time to challenge this arrangement, as companies are looking for alternative manufacturing
            hubs. India could be their preferred choice, provided we are able to offer a conducive environment. A
            conducive business climate with simplified land and labor laws, better infrastructure and logistics, and
            single window clearances can enable India to develop a robust manufacturing ecosystem. This will also
            help attract foreign capital, latest technology, create jobs and boost our exports. Skill and Scale should be
            the primary focus to be both quality and cost competitive and serve a global customer base. Huge scope
            exists in MedTech sector, not only to be self-reliant but also capture a considerable share of the global
            supply chain.</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>Dr. Prabhakaran Dorairaj - Thanked ASSOCHAM for hosting this important webinar and said National
            Digital Health Mission (NDHM), which is based on the National Digital Health Blueprint (NHDB) prepared
            by the Ministry of Health Family Welfare (MoHFW) panel to create a framework for the National Health
            Stack (NHS) proposed in 2018 by the National Institution for Transformation of India (NITI) Aayog. The
            NHS is essentially a set of core building blocks to be 'built as a common public good' that helps avoid
            duplication of efforts and achieves convergence among the IT systems of the diverse stakeholders such as
            the Governments, the Payers, the Providers, and the Citizens.</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
            The mission envisages the creation of few core digital systems which are built to support timely access to
            safe, affordable healthcare for all citizens and will accelerate the country's progress towards Universal
            Health Coverage (UHC). The suite of digital systems consists of Health ID, DigiDoctor, Health Facility
            Registry (HFR), Personal Health Records, e-Pharmacy, and Telemedicine. Similar to the other healthcare
            programs announced by the Government, NDHM will also be rolled out in phases.</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
             Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) account for approximately 41 million deaths each year; 15 million of
            these deaths are considered premature (before the age of 70 years) and over 85% occur in low- and
            middle-income countries. In India, NCDs contribute to 62% of total deaths; of particular concern are
            preventable premature deaths, which account for a staggering 48% of the overall mortality. The leading
            causes of NCD mortality in 2016 were cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, cancers,
            diabetes, and urogenital, blood and endocrine diseases. Findings from the India state-level Disease Burden
            Initiative reveal dramatic increases in disability-adjusted life year rates between 1990 and 2016 for two
            specific NCDs - diabetes and ischemic heart disease. The high prevalence of major risk factors, such as
            tobacco use, harmful consumption of alcohol, poor diet and physical inactivity, are contributing to the
            rising burden of NCDs. If the four major NCDs (diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory
            disease and cancer) are left unaddressed, they could cost India approximately US$ 3.55 trillion in
            economic losses by 2030.</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
            <b>Dr. Nikhil Agarwal</b> - Thanked ASSOCHAM for hosting this important webinar and said India is one of the
            fast-rising economic power in the world today. The status of development in sectors of IT and industry
            are hiking at a swift pace. With the abundance of human resource India has caught the attention of the
            world with their amazing performance in these sectors. The high density of population in India is also
            having a high percentage of youth population making a seamlessly working work machine producing
            products and projects that can possibly alter the functioning of technology and industry in the future.</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
             Medical research comes as a necessary development as more people are present in the country. The
            overall development of any country is measured based on the overall lifestyle of the people. Health care
            is one of the important factors that is taken into account while assessing the development of a nation.
            Medical research in India is pioneered by various public and private organizations rigorously working to
            increase the standard of health care in the country. The improvement of life expectancy of every citizen
            in the country is highly dependent on the development of advanced medical research producing faster,
            cheaper and effective methods of treatments to provide the patients with.</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'> With advancements in the field of biotechnology and bio-engineering, there are chances of developing
            new drugs and new diagnostic methods and tools that can help in making the process of medical
            development faster in India.</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
            <b>Dr. Hardik J Pandya</b> - Thanked ASSOCHAM for hosting this important webinar and was happy to share
            that a ventilator can be a life-saver for patients whose lungs are damaged by the COVID-19 infection. But
            India, like all countries grappling with this pandemic. IISc is built a prototype of an electro-mechanical
            ventilator from scratch and using only components made in India, based on the guidelines issued by the
            regulatory agency.</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
             A paradigm shift is anticipated from volume-based care (fee-for-service healthcare, being independent of
            the service quality) to value-based care (healthcare providers are charged based on patients&apos; health
            outcomes). Stakeholders in the Indian healthcare ecosystem are focusing on leveraging healthcare apps
            to make up for the inadequacies in healthcare infrastructure.Increasing focus on patient-centric care,
            emergence of advanced technologies, and changing business models have played a crucial role in driving
            the healthcare apps market in India.</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
             Digital transformation in the country, coupled with substantial support from the government, has fueled
            the growth of the healthcare apps market in India. The increase in digital reach in the country has been
            replicated by a swift growth in the number of mobile subscribers and Internet users in the country.</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
            The health data generated from healthcare apps can be leveraged by AI and machine learning algorithms
            and used to identify people with potential health risks. Further, an AI-based app can detect patients&apos; faces
            through a visual recognition system and assist in disease management. Internet of Medical Things (IoMT)
            has the potential to develop innovative apps, which connect to beacons placed across hospitals and aid
            indoor navigation within hospitals</p>.

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
            <b>Ashutosh Shrotriya</b> - Thanked ASSOCHAM for hosting this important webinar and was happy to share
            that, the health insurance industry in India is the fastest growing segment in the non-life insurance sector.
            The market witnessed a robust double-digit growth of 24% in FY 17, with a market share of 24%, in the
            entire non-life insurance sector. It has been the fastest growing market segment, registering a CAGR of
            23%, for the past 10 years. This phenomenal growth may be attributed to the liberalization of the
            economy and growing general awareness among the public on healthcare.</p>


            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
             The health insurance industry is at an embryonic stage, with roughly 25% of the population under its
            coverage. There exists a huge potential for growth and penetration of health insurance to a larger
            population. The way insurance is being underwritten in today&apos;s world is fast changing. And feeding this
            massive data revolution is your and my digital footprint. Whether it is ordering food online through mobile
            apps or paying for it through mobile wallets, or even hailing a taxi online, we are leaving behind a valuable
            trail of information every minute of our lives</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'> 
            And it is this data that is being mined and analyzed by various organizations and institutions to eliminate
            risk, improve their efficiency, make their services more cutting-edge, and offer better products to us.
            While insurance companies once relied on historical data for actuarial calculations and risk management,
            they now draw upon data sources that are updated by the second. This enables them to be more
            responsive in an increasingly volatile risk environment. Thus, real-time data has become central to any
            kind of risk underwriting, and one who has access to this data enjoys plenty of advantages over his peers
            and is in a better position to underwrite risk.</p>

            <p style='text-align:justify;'>
             The future looks promising for the life insurance industry with several changes in regulatory framework
            which will lead to further change in the way the industry conducts its business and engages with its
            customers. The overall insurance industry is expected to reach US$ 280 billion by the end of 2020. Life
            insurance industry in the country is expected to increase by 14-15% annually for the next three to five
            years. The scope of IoT in Indian insurance market continues to go beyond telematics and customer risk
            assessment.
            ****</p>