In order to provide a platform which can enable aspiring entrepreneurs to test their innovative ideas in the field of medical technologies, The Government of Telangana and MedTechConnect, a platform founded by Cyient and Xynteo's India2022 coalition have joined hands together to launch a new initiative called Project Tej. As part of BioAsia 2020, Asia's largest Biotechnology and Life-sciences forum, today Telangana State's Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad (RICH) and MedTechConnect have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in an endeavour to accelerate and support the indigenous innovations in medical technologies.

Through Project Tej, medical technology innovators and device manufacturers can validate the usability of their devices in public health settings and gain access to public health channels. Project Tej testbeds will complement Telangana state's infrastructure projects, which include the Telangana MedTech Park and ensure that Telangana becomes a favorable destination for MedTech investments. "Telangana state is now synonymous with innovation and technology. With this initiative, we want to use the expertise available in the state to ensure ground-breaking medical technologies can deliver quality healthcare for all," says Ajit Rangnekar, Director General, RICH.

Project Tej will accelerate the adoption of indigenous and cost-effective innovations in medical technologies in India's public health systems. This will be done by bringing together an alliance of industry, hospitals, start-ups, and ecosystem builders in the MedTech space. "Implementation of Project Tej will help provide real-world access for companies to test and commercialize their technologies. We hope this creates an encouraging environment for local start-ups to bring their products to the market," says Dr. BVR Mohan Reddy, Executive Chairman, Cyient.

These testbeds will give MedTech innovators access to real-world clinical settings for faster validation of innovative, affordable technologies and also provide access to industrial networks and markets.