India, Aug. 19 -- Since the COVID-19 pandemic, India has seen a rapid expansion in hospitals and medical colleges, with the government actively increasing MBBS seats. But one essential part of this growing system has been left behind i.e. Biomedical Engineering (BME). Who will plan and maintain the complex medical equipment in these new hospitals? As clinical infrastructure expands, BME is quietly slipping into neglect.

Introduced in India in the 1990s, BME programmes received early support through initiatives like the ICMR-DHR Centres of Excellence and IIT Bombay's BETiC (Biomedical Engineering and Technology Innovation Centre). Yet, despite India's growing healthcare and med-tech ecosystem, the field now faces declining enrolments, lim...