The next big boom after IT will be Medical Devices, said Mr. Venugopala Rao Sankineni, Vice President – Medical Devices Policy & Investments, Telangana Lifesciences, Government of Telangana, during his special address on Day 2 of TG-PackCON 2025, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at The Park, Somajiguda.
He highlighted Telangana’s four-pillar strategy for life sciences — attracting investment, fostering innovation, upskilling talent, and creating world-class infrastructure. Calling MSMEs the backbone of industrial growth, he said Hyderabad is a powerhouse of India’s pharma industry and emphasized that the future lies at the intersection of biology and technology.
Mr. Sankineni underlined that 70% of India’s medical devices are still imported, even as the USD 14 billion MedTech industry grows at 14% annually. Telangana, he said, is leading localisation with the Medical Devices Park at Sultanpur, Patancheru, India’s largest MedTech R&D and manufacturing cluster, whose second phase is underway. He also cited the state’s Digital Health Data Exchange, a unified portal to integrate digital-health information and enable advanced analytics.
AI and Health-Sciences Innovation
Jignesh Talasila, Co-Founder & CEO, Perspective AI, delivered a Disruptor Talk on AI-led transformation in Health Sciences.
He showcased Google DeepMind’s C2S-Scale system, which reduced cancer-drug discovery timelines from years to weeks, and introduced the idea of AI-powered Character Twins — digital patient simulations that allow testing diagnostics before human trials.
Global Collaboration and Industry Insights
Dr. Reddanna Pallu, Executive President, FABA, noted that India contributes only 0.3% of the global biopharma market and urged faster innovation and skill development.
Mr. Gareth Wynn Owen, Deputy High Commissioner, British High Commission, called the India-UK FTA one of the most comprehensive trade deals ever signed, predicting a 50% rise in bilateral trade from the current £43 billion.
Earlier, Mr. Chakravarthi AVPS, Chairman – TG-PackCON 2025 & MD, Ecobliss India Pvt Ltd, opened the day stressing that “innovation is no longer a choice — it’s a responsibility.”
Other speakers included Dr. Vinay Kumar Gupta (CDSCO), Mr. Girish Kapur (USP India), and Dr. Ratnakar Palakodeti (Innominds), who discussed affordability, quality, and regulatory readiness as key to India’s global pharma growth.
A special panel on “Regulatory Mastery & Global Compliance” explored how harmonised regulations can enhance exports and patient safety.
