Which of your business units are witnessing significant growth in India?
We have eight business units and have consistent focus on all of them. Coronary Vascular, Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management, Structural Heart and Endovascular businesses are clubbed under our Cardiac and Vascular Group (CVG) and deliver a bulk of our revenue.

Spinal and Biologics, Surgical Technologies and Neuromodulation constitute the Restorative Therapies Group, which is growing significantly faster than the CVG business. Finally, our Diabetes business is positioned very strongly to make an impact in India due to the high population of diabetics in India. Our globalization strategies, which include delivering optimum economic value wherever we operate, will help us to succeed by transforming the way we work to address the burden of chronic diseases in the region.

What were the challenges that the company faced in 2012 in India?
The year 2012 had been a good year for Medtronic in India. Nevertheless, we do face challenges in talent acquisition as the medical devices industry is small with a limited pool of talent. Balancing opposite forces of rising costs (due to inflation and depreciation of the Rupee) along with reducing prices (to make the products and therapies more affordable for the Indian market) has been another major challenge for us.

What trends will the healthcare industry witness in 2013 in India? How is the company planning to adapt to these trends?
Non-communicable diseases (NCD) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in India. As per the World Bank, NCDs account for 62 percent of the total disease burden, while the rest is from communicable diseases. Cardiovascular diseases (CVD), injury, mental health, cancer, respiratory diseases, and diabetes are the major NCDs in India. About 1.2 million Indians die due to heart attacks every year and this number is growing by 9.2 percent annually.

CVDs account for the second largest number of non-communicable disease patients after mental illnesses. 24.8 percent of CVD patients are in the 25-69 age groups, according to the Cardiology Society of India. Lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes, CVD and diseases of the central nervous system are plaguing India and Medtronic can play a key role in supporting the management of these diseases. We believe that innovation in medical technology is an important tool towards creating better quality of lives. This combined with an innovative business model can make affordable healthcare accessible to a larger section of the Indian population.