Bengaluru, July 18 (IANS): Karnataka tops India in medical equipment and supply sales, accounting for a fourth of the Rs.5,300 crore market, though it has only eight percent of the country's medical equipment factories, says a trade study.

"Karnataka topped with one-fourth (25 percent or Rs.1,360 crore) market share of the sale (Rs.5,300 crore) of medical equipment and supplies in fiscal 2011-12, though it had only 26 of the 316 factories operating in medical and dental instruments and supplies across states in the country," said the study, conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).

Haryana followed Karnataka with 22 percent (Rs.1,177.55 crore) and Uttar Pradesh with 10.6 percent (Rs.569 crore).

Gujarat has the highest number of medical/dental instruments manufacturing factories with 65 (19.2 percent) followed by Maharashtra 41 (12.1 percent) and Uttar Pradesh 33 (9.8 percent). But the western state itself occupies the fourth slot in sales with 8.2 percent (Rs.438 crore), Assocham stated in the study.

Assocham secretary general D. S. Rawat contended that the government should focus on developing domestic medical devices manufacturing capability to ensure the nation's health security, noting absence of a consistent regulatory framework, lack of adequate incentives and funding for manufacturing devices, dearth of trained workforce for maintenance and lack of coordination between stakeholders are among the key constraints in establishing this industry in India.

Assocham called for FDI in healthcare and diagnostic segment to propel the domestic industry's rise, noting only 0.38 percent FDI (Rs.4,511 crore) flowed into medical and surgical appliances sector for 14 years from April 2000 to September 2014.