India's healthcare industry has grown significantly in both employment and income. The expansion of coverage, services, and rising spending by both public and private entities are all contributing to the rapid growth of the Indian healthcare industry. The abundance of highly qualified medical personnel in India is a competitive advantage. Comparing India to its counterparts in Asia and Western nations, it is also cost-competitive. Surgery in India costs roughly a tenth of what it does in the US or Western Europe.
The healthcare sector, as of FY24, is one of India’s largest employers, employing a total of 7.5 million people. A recent research report predicts that the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the Indian healthcare sector will create nearly 3 million new jobs by 2028.
India's healthcare workforce has already exceeded 6 million as of CY24. However, this represents only the beginning, as the sector is anticipated to experience substantial growth, with over 6.3 million additional jobs expected by CY30.
The Indian healthcare sector is witnessing unprecedented growth, with private equity and venture capital investments surpassing US$ 1 billion in the first five months of FY24, marking a 220% increase from the previous year.
Indian medical tourism market was valued at US$ 7.69 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach US$ 14.31 billion by FY29. According to India Tourism Statistics, around 634,561 foreign tourists came for medical treatment in India in 2023, which was nearly 6.87% of the tourists who visited the nation. India has been ranked tenth in the Medical Tourism Index (MTI) for 2020-21 out of 46 destinations by the Medical Tourism Association.
India’s public expenditure on healthcare is expected to be 1.9% of GDP in FY26, compared to 2.5% in FY25, as per the Economic Survey 2024-25.
As on January 20, 2025, 36 States/UTs have set up 53 Tele MANAS Cells and have started tele mental health services. More than 17.6 lakh calls have been handled on the helpline number.
The government announced Rs. 9,406 crore (US$ 1.08 billion) outlay for PMJAY in the Union Budget 2025-26, an increase of 28.8% from Union Budget 2024-25.
India's pharmaceutical industry is anticipated to undergo significant growth, with exports projected to reach Rs. 30,76,500 crore (US$ 350 billion) by FY47, representing an increase of 10 to 15 times from current levels of Rs. 2,37,330 crore (US$ 27 billion).
As on January 20, 2025, more than 73 crore Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHA) have been created successfully and there are more than 5 lakh health professionals registered.
Between April 2000-September 2024, the FDI inflow for the drugs and pharmaceuticals sector stood at Rs. 2,00,148 crore (US$ 23.04 billion).
Inflows in sectors such as hospitals and diagnostic centres and medical and surgical appliances stood at Rs. 97,208 crore (US$ 11.19 billion) and Rs. 32,403 crore (US$ 3.73 billion), respectively, between April 2000-September 2024.
Apollo Hospitals, and the University of Leicester have established the Centre for Digital Health and Precision Medicine in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh. This initiative seeks to transform healthcare by advancing research and education in digital health, precision medicine, and specialized healthcare programs.
The government has allocated Rs. 99,858 crore (US$ 11.50 billion) to the healthcare sector in the FY26 Union budget for the development, maintenance, and enhancement of the country's healthcare system. This reflects a 9.78% increase from the previous allocation of Rs. 90,958 crore (US$ 10.47 billion) in FY25.
On January 25, 2025, India's Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, and Indonesia's President, Mr. Prabowo Subianto, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This MoU aims to establish quality assurance standards for traditional medicine, representing a significant advancement in the pursuit of global standards in this field.
Iswarya Hospital launched in Chennai with twelve-story building features 14 operational rooms and 72 clinical service departments. It is equipped with AI-powered CT and MRI machines, a catheterization lab, advanced surgical interventions, and specialized therapies in cardiology, orthopedics, and neurology.
In February 2025, Metropolis Healthcare has partnered with Roche Diagnostics India to launch a self-sampling HPV DNA test for cervical cancer screening. This innovative test empowers women to take charge of their health by allowing them to collect their samples for testing in a comfortable and convenient manner.
Tata Group has partnered with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to establish Tata IISc Medical School at the institute’s Bengaluru campus and will contribute Rs. 500 crore (US$ 57.6 million) to support it.
The Indian medical devices sector has witnessed remarkable growth in recent years and is expected to reach Rs. 4,34,350 crore (US$ 50 billion) by FY31 driven by increasing demand for quality healthcare, advancements in technology, and favourable government policies. Start-ups in this sector have been instrumental in fostering innovation, improving accessibility, and reducing costs.
Government of India approves a Rs. 64,000 crore (US$ 7.7 billion) project for establishing 22 AI Institutes of Precision Medicine: This government-funded initiative aims to leverage artificial intelligence for advanced diagnostics and personalized healthcare, significantly impacting the sector.
Healthcare innovation in India, currently a US$ 30 billion opportunity led by pharma services and Healthtech, is seeing increased investment in MedTech and biotech. With rising consumerization of health, global value chain changes, and regulatory support, this innovation opportunity is projected to reach US$ 60 billion by FY 2028, alongside ecosystem shifts like consolidation and new partnerships.
The healthcare and pharmaceutical sector in India had M&A activity worth US$ 5 billion in 2023.
In September 2023, Nirma a diversified Indian conglomerate, acquired a 75% stake in Glenmark Life Sciences, a pharmaceutical company, for US$ 689 million. This transaction marked one of the biggest Indian healthcare M&A deals of the year.
In May 2023, Temasek, a Singaporean investment company, invested US$ 2 billion in Manipal Health Enterprises, a leading healthcare provider in India, highlighting the growing interest in the Asian healthcare market.
Flipkart Group has announced its foray into the healthcare sector through the launch of Flipkart Health+. As part of this development, Flipkart has signed definitive agreements to acquire a majority share in Sastasundar Marketplace Limited, which owns and operates SastaSundar.com, an online pharmacy and digital healthcare platform.
India's medical tourism is set to exceed pre-pandemic levels, reaching 7.3 million tourists in CY 2024. Major hospital chains like Max Healthcare, Fortis Healthcare, and Apollo Hospitals are driving this growth. With top-notch infrastructure and skilled experts, medical tourism is expected to contribute 10-12% to hospital revenue, outpacing industry growth.
Apollo 24|7 has merged with Keimed in a Rs. 2,475 crore (US$ 296 million) deal, with Advent International acquiring a 12.1% stake in the new entity valued at Rs. 22,481 crore (US$ 2.69 billion). Apollo Hospitals will maintain a majority stake of at least 59.2%.
Aster DM Healthcare has announced that it is planning Rs. 900 crore (US$ 120.97 million) capital expenditure over the next three years to expand its presence in India, as it looks at increasing the share of revenue from the country to 40% of the total revenue by 2025.
AstraZeneca India has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Docon Technologies, a Bengaluru-based health start-up, to digitise 1,000 clinics across India by implementing customised Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems in clinics to offer doctors access to a patient’s complete medical history.
Union Ministers of State for Health and Family Welfare, Mr. Prataprao Ganpatrao Jadhav and Mrs. Anupriya Singh Patel, recently unveiled three key initiatives at the Ayushman Bharat, Quality Health event. These initiatives aim to enhance healthcare quality and facilitate ease of doing business in India, including a virtual NQAS assessment for Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, an IPHS compliance dashboard for real-time monitoring of public health facilities, and a spot food licence initiative for food vendors.
In 2024, the Indian government established 60 new medical colleges, increasing MBBS seats by 6.3% to 1,15,812. This expansion has raised the total number of medical colleges to 766, up from 387 in 2013-14. Postgraduate seats also grew by 5.92% to 73,111.
India has made its Covid-19 vaccination platform, CoWIN, open source for all countries. Almost 76 countries have displayed interest in leveraging the CoWIN platform to manage their national COVID-19 vaccination drives.
In November 2022, six pharmaceutical companies were chosen by the Indian Council of Medical Research to produce monkeypox vaccines - Serum Institute of India, Biological E, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Hester Bioscience Ltd., Indian Immunologicals Ltd., and Reliance Life Sciences.
In FY24, DNA Wellness announced a Rs. 200 crore (US$ 23.98 million) investment to establish over 100 cervical cancer screening labs across India by 2027. They have exclusive rights to the CERViSure DNA Ploidy Test, a quick and non-invasive cancer detection method. The first lab opened in Ahmedabad, with more planned in Vadodara, Rajkot, and Surat by October 2024. This initiative aims to improve access to cervical cancer screening, addressing the significant health burden of approximately 130,000 new cases and 80,000 deaths annually in India.
Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, while speaking at the global COVID-19 summit, said that India had shared its vaccine production with 95 countries and the UN peacekeepers. He also stated that India will supply COVID-19 vaccines to other countries after increased production. He also launched the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, which will connect the digital health solutions of hospitals across the country with each other. Under this, every citizen will now get a digital health ID and their health record will be digitally protected.
The Uttar Pradesh government has announced the introduction of automatic medicine dispensing machines to expand the primary healthcare industry and clinical centres in the country.
Union Minister of Defence, Mr. Rajnath Singh, has launched the ‘Services e-Health Assistance & Tele-consultation (SeHAT)’ OPD portal to provide telemedicine services to armed forces personnel and veterans.
The Parliament has passed the National Commission for Allied & Healthcare Professions Bill 2021, which aims to create a body that will regulate and maintain educational and service standards for healthcare professionals.
