| | OCTOBER 20238Existing manufacturers and importers of high-risk medical devices can continue to import and manufacture the devices for another six months if they have applied for licences, the government announced on Oct 12, bringing much-needed relief to the industry.As part of quality control efforts, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) set an October 1 deadline for bringing 'class C' and 'class D' medical devices under regulation. Several manufacturers submitted applications for the licences, but the government did not provide them on time."It has been decided that, in case, if an existing importer/ manufacturer who is already importing/ manufacturing any of the above said Class C or Class D Medical Devices, has submitted application to Central Licensing Authority, for grant of import /manufacturing licence in respect of the said devices) under the provisions of Medical Devices Rules, 2017, the said application shall be deemed valid and the importer/manufacturer can continue to import/manufacture the said device(s) up to six months from the date of issue of this order or till the time, the Central Licensing Authority, takes a decision on the said application, whichever is earlier," said a CDSCO circular dated October 12.Medical devices in these categories, such as ventilators, imaging equipment, oxygen therapy equipment, nebulisers, x-ray equipment, surgical robots, and oncology treatment linear accelerators, are prohibited from being sold without a manufacturing licence beginning October 1. Several manufacturers, however, stated that they had filed for a licence in July but were still awaiting audits on the basis of which they will be granted licences. Tata Steel, Asia's oldest maker of the principal infrastructure alloy, intends to cover at least one-fourth of its energy needs through green energy by FY30, on its way to becoming carbon-neutral by 2045. Tata Steel's vice president for safety, health, and sustainability, Rajiv Mangal, told ET that the company wants to use a combination of hydrogen injections and renewable energy, such as solar and wind, at its factories nationwide.Earlier this year, the business successfully introduced hydrogen into one of its blast furnaces in Jamshedpur, with the goal of lowering carbon emissions by 7-10Percent for each tonne of basic steel produced."We wanted to test hydrogen because hydrogen transportation is costly and risky. So, we wanted to be sure. Those fears are now behind us, so we are looking at either a 15-tonne per day hydrogen plant or someone else providing it to us," Mangal said."The price of hydrogen in the market will not be less than $5 to $6 per kg. To be commercially viable in a steel plant, we need it in the range of around $1. So, hydrogen technically can solve the problem, but commercially cannot," he said.Steel production is one of the most carbon-intensive processes globally, accounting for as much as 7-9Percent of carbon emissions. Conversations around the industry increasingly consider how steel production can be made greener. This includes manufacturing steel through the usage of scrap and replacing conventional sources of energy with renewable power. MEDICAL EQUIPMENT IMPORTERS ALLOWED TO OPERATE WITH PENDING LICENSETATA STEEL TO SOURCE 1/4TH OF ITS ENERGY FROM RENEWABLESIN FOCUSIN FOCUS
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