Digital Health Summit 2023

• Recently, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) held the Digital Health Summit 2023 in Goa.

• The CII is a non-profit, business-led, and industry-managed organisation.

Major highlight

• It discussed the relevance of technological breakthroughs in health care, including robotics, bioinformatics, and genomics, and how they potentially enable revolutionary medical treatments.
• It attempts to create a framework for digital public goods to promote norms for privacy, data security, and interoperability.
• It emphasised the need for "citizen-centric" digital health systems that enable everyone access to high-quality services.
• It also emphasised the importance of preventative measures and the fact that health technology is the most significant aspect of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

How does a digital health system operate?

• Through the use of various digital technologies, digital healthcare is a technique of delivering medical care that makes high-quality services accessible, inexpensive, and sustainable.
• The broad definition of advanced healthcare includes subcategories including mobile health (mHealth), health information technology (IT), wearable technology, telehealth and telemedicine, and personalised medicine.
• 2020 will see the adoption of the WHO Global Strategy on Digital Health by the World Health Assembly. It offers a route for connecting the newest advancements in digital health and utilising these tools to enhance health outcomes.

Major Applications:

• Diagnostics at the Point of Care: The term "point-of-care diagnostics" (POCD) refers to a developing trend in the medical device sector and describes a broad range of products that enable patients or healthcare professionals to conduct precise diagnostics in circumstances where resources are constrained.

• Virtual medical assistants: By booking appointments, monitoring health records, and carrying out other administrative duties, chatbots and virtual health assistants support patients in communicating with doctors and taking care of their requirements in between consultations.

• Medical devices that can monitor themselves are now being included into wearables, allowing them to detect a range of physiological changes in the body.

• E-pharmacies: An e-pharmacy is a pharmacy that accepts orders online and delivers medications by mail, courier, or delivery personnel.

Challenges:

• Absence of Clear Guidelines: The absence of clear regulations and guidelines may lead to fraudulent practises, misuse of digital prescriptions, data theft, and misuse of electronic health records.
• The lack of digital infrastructure and competent employees is another barrier to India's healthcare system going digital.
• In order to keep patients confident in digital healthcare, it is crucial to secure data privacy and cybersecurity.
• Inadequate security measures can lead to data breaches and the compromise of patient information.
• A legal foundation for e-pharmacy is not necessary: The 1940 Drugs and Cosmetics Act governs the manufacture, distribution, and import of medicines in India.
• However, there is no official definition of "e-pharmacy" in either the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940 or the Pharmacy Act of 1948.

Positive effects of digital healthcare

• Telemedicine has enabled both the decentralisation of healthcare and access to remote and advanced care
• By using web-based counselling and home prescription delivery, patients in rural and remote areas can now access affordable, high-quality medical care.
• By facilitating access to health data, computerised devices can provide medical care providers with a comprehensive view of long-term wellbeing.

What objectives does the WHO have for increasing public awareness of innovation and digital health?

• incorporating information, research, and evidence into it through standards for information exchange and interoperability, as well as facilitating the execution of computerised solutions for well-informed guidance
• creating scientific practise communities that are backed by cutting-edge technology to bring together expert opinions on clinical and public health challenges.
• proactively finding, promoting, co-developing, and growing ideas based on national requirements, and systematically tying national requirements and innovation supply together.

Way ahead

• artificial intelligence Controlled medical care: Applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare are becoming more and more widespread, including the analysis of huge volumes of data, diagnosis, and health result prediction
• With the use of this technology, healthcare delivery might be done more quickly and accurately while spending less money.
  

India's Export Potential

• India's top exporting district is Jamnagar in the state of Gujarat. During FY23 (through January), it accounted for around 24% of India's exports in value terms.
• Dakshina Kannada in Karnataka, Devbhumi Dwarka, Bharuch, and Kachchh in Gujarat, Mumbai in Maharashtra, Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu, and Gautam Buddha Nagar in Uttar Pradesh are the other districts in the top 10.

Status of the export sector

• In 2022–23, the merchandise trade imbalance, or the difference between exports and imports, rose by more than 39% to a record USD 266.78 billion, up from USD 191 billion in 2021–2022 period.
• In 2022–2023, imports of goods climbed by 16.51% while exports of goods rose by 6.03%.
• However, the overall trade deficit increased to USD 122 billion in 2022–2023 from USD 83.53 billion in 2022, thanks to a trade surplus in services.
• Engineering goods saw a 50% increase in exports, reaching USD 101 billion in FY22.
• At the moment, all MNC firms in India that produce pumps, tools, carbides, air compressors, engines, and generators are trading at record highs and moving new production facilities there.
• Agriculture-related exports benefited from the government's efforts to meet the pandemic's increased demand for food on the world market. The most valuable agricultural export from India is rice, valued at $9.65 billion.
• Textiles and apparel: India's exports of textiles and apparel (including handicrafts) totaled USD 44.4 billion in FY22, a 41% YoY increase.
• This industry is receiving a significant boost from government initiatives like the Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (MITRA) Park.
• Pharmaceuticals & drugs: India is the largest provider of generic drugs and the third-largest manufacturer of pharmaceuticals overall.
• Over 50% of Africa's need for generics is met by India, as is about 40% of generic demand in the US and 25% of all pharmaceuticals in the UK.

Challenges

• Access to Finance: For exporters, having quick, reasonable access to financing is essential.
• However, because of the high interest rates, collateral restrictions, and lack of credit availability from financial institutions, particularly for small and medium-sized firms (SMEs), many Indian exporters encounter difficulties in acquiring financing.
• Limited Export Diversification: India's export portfolio is concentrated in a small number of industries, including engineering items, textiles, and medicines, making it susceptible to changes in global demand and market hazards.
• Lack of export diversification makes it difficult for India's export industry to adapt to shifting global trade dynamics.

Export promotion scheme

Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS): Under MEIS, the government offers duty benefits based on the product and the country. MEIS was launched in the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015–20.

• Rewards under the programme are paid as a portion of the realised free-on-board value (of 2%, 3%, and 5%), and MEIS duty credit scrip can be transferred or used to pay for a variety of duties, including the minimal customs charge.
• The Service Exports from India Scheme was established in April 2015 for a period of five years as part of India's Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020.
• Previously known as the Served from India Scheme (SFIS Scheme) for the Financial Years 2009–2014.
• In accordance with it, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry provides incentives to service exporters operating in India to encourage the export.
• The Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) scheme for certain agricultural products offers support for the foreign component of freight and marketing of agricultural produce as well as to advance brand recognition for Indian agricultural products in the concerned international markets.
• By identifying goods and services with export potential in each district, removing barriers to exporting these goods and services, and assisting local exporters and manufacturers through institutional and strategic interventions, districts are being promoted as export hubs in an effort to fully utilise the export potential of our large country. For 478 districts, district-specific export action plans have been created.

Way forward

• Infrastructure Investment: Improving logistics and infrastructure are essential for raising export competitiveness.
• Investments in India's transport systems, ports, customs clearance procedures, and export-oriented infrastructure like export promotion zones and specialist industrial zones should receive top priority.
• This can save transportation expenses, enhance the effectiveness of the supply chain, and increase export capacity.
• Technology Adoption and Skill Development: Skill development initiatives should be put in place to increase the pool of qualified workers available in export-oriented sectors.
• Additionally, encouraging and supporting the use of technologies like automation, digitization, and Industry 4.0 can improve export industry productivity, competitiveness, and innovation.

Malcolm Adiseshiah Award 2023

• A distinguished economist with both national and international praise, Utsa Patnaik, has been chosen to receive the Malcolm Adiseshiah Award in 2023.

Regarding the Malcolm Adiseshiah Award

• One of the India's most esteemed national prizes, it acknowledges and recognises the exceptional contributions made by the social scientists to the field of development studies.
• The Malcolm and Elizabeth Adiseshiah Trust established it in the year 2000.

• An excellent social scientist is chosen every year from a nominations by a specially assembled national jury to receive the prize. An award and Rs. 2 lakh in prize money are included with the honour.
• The Malcolm Adiseshiah award for outstanding achievements to development studies comes with an award and a monetary prize of Rs. 1 lakh.
• Indian economist and the educator Malcolm Sathiyanathan Adiseshiah (1910–1994) focused on economic development. He received the Padma Bhushan in the year 1976.

Indian recipients in the past

• Professors Bina Agarwal (in 2002), Jandhyala B. G. Tilak (in 2003), Dipankar Gupta (in 2004), Dr. Amita Baviskar (associate professor) (in 2005), and Prabhat Patnaik (economic and political analyst) (in 2022) have all been in the field of education.

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