'In India, for India,' GE Health Eyes Rural Market (India)
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
Executive Summary
GE Healthcare's Indian arm, a joint venture between Wipro Ltd. and General Electric Co., plans to bring a range of high-end technology products, such as digital X-rays, portable ultrasounds, and computed tomography devices, into the country at greatly reduced prices. "We believe that the rural market in India has a lot of potential and is still largely untapped," says V. Raja, president, India, GE Healthcare. The company hopes to develop other high-end technology for the rural market, many out of reach for most rural healthcare operations partly due to cost and partly due to the infrastructure requirements. "When we develop products for rural India, we try and address three parameters - cost, mobility and the ability to run on limited power," says Raja. Approximately 88 percent of urban areas in India have a health-care facility, compared with 24 percent in rural areas - 90 percent of which are manned by sole practitioners. Officials hope that divide can be bridged by equipment built to cater to the rural population. Realizing the need for an India-centric approach, GE Healthcare started an initiative called "In India, for India," through which it has developed unique products such as the MAC 400, a recently launched electrocardiograph that was designed, developed and manufactured in India. GE has a 51 percent stake in the company, while Wipro has 49 percent. (Click here for more