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 Indian Healthcare industry continued its healthy growth in 2023 and reached a value of US$ 372 billion driven by both the private sector and the government.
As of 2024, the Indian healthcare sector is one of India’s largest employers as it employs a total of 7.5 million people. Progress in telemedicine, virtual assistants, and data analytics is expected to create 2.7-3.5 million new tech jobs.
The healthcare sector, as of 2024, 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.
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 2024, 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 2029. 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 touched 1.9% of GDP in FY24, against 1.6% in FY23, as per the Economic Survey 2023-24.
With US$ 5-6 billion size of Medical value travel (MVT) and 500000 International patients annually, India is among the global leader destinations for international patients seeking advanced treatment.
The number of allopathic doctors with recognised medical qualifications (under the I.M.C Act) registered with state medical councils/national medical councils increased to 1.308 million in June 2022, from 0.83 million in 2010.
The telemedicine market is expected to reach US$ 5.4 billion by 2025, driven by increased demand for remote healthcare solutions and advancements in technology.
Between April 2000-December 2023, the FDI inflow for the drugs and pharmaceuticals sector stood at US$ 22.37 billion, according to the data released by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). Inflows in sectors such as hospitals and diagnostic centres and medical and surgical appliances stood at US$ 9.81 billion and US$ 3.26 billion, respectively, between April 2000-December 2023.
During 2022-23 (P) Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow in India stood at US$ 70,970 million.
India currently holds the fourth position in attracting VC funding to the health-tech sector, with investments of US$ 4.4 billion between 2016 and 2021, with US$ 1.9 invested in 2021 alone.
India's Union Budget 2024-25 emphasizes transforming the healthcare sector through increased digital infrastructure and a revised health expenditure of Rs. 89,287 crores (US$ 10.70 billion), aiming to enhance accessibility and innovation in healthcare services.
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.
India's hospital market was valued at US$ 98.98 billion in 2023, projected to grow at a CAGR of 8.0% from 2024 to 2032, reaching an estimated value of US$ 193.59 billion by 2032.
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.
The Interim Budget 2024-25 emphasizes healthcare infrastructure by increasing the allocation for the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PMABHIM) from Rs. 2,100 crore (US$ 251 million) to Rs. 4,108 crore (US$ 492 million).
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.
In 2021, the Universal Health Care Bill was introduced in India to provide quality healthcare for all citizens, regardless of socio-economic status. It aims to promote preventive care, integrate primary healthcare into existing government schemes, and establish transparency and accountability in the healthcare system.
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.
The Interim Budget 2024-25 emphasizes healthcare infrastructure by increasing the allocation for the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PMABHIM) from Rs. 2,100 crore (US$ 251 million) to Rs. 4,108 crore (US$ 492 million) alongside plans to establish more medical colleges utilizing existing hospital infrastructure.
In 2024, 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.
As of November 18, 2021, 80,136 Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) are operational in India, and 638 e-Hospitals are established across India as part of the central government's ‘Digital India’ initiative. Edelweiss General Insurance has also partnered with the Ministry of Health, Government of India, to help Indians generate their Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) number. As of October 2023, a total of 26 crore Ayushman cards have been created.
DocPlix, a health-tech startup, raises Rs. 1.2 crore (US$ 0.14 million) in a bridge round led by Inflection Point Ventures (IPV), aiming to digitize health records for India's 1.4 billion population and enhance healthcare accessibility.
By March 2022, the Health Ministry’s eSanjeevani telemedicine service had already crossed 3 crore tele-consultations. Moreover, eSanjeevani telemedicine set a record by completing over 1.7 lakhs consultations in a single day. eSanjeevani telemedicine service of Union Health Ministry has crossed 3 crore tele-consultations.
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.
As of May 2021, 11.9 lakh Health IDs have been generated and 3,106 doctors and 1,490 facilities have registered on the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) platform.
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.
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.
The Government of India is planning to increase public health spending to 2.5% of the country's GDP by 2025. India's competitive advantage also lies in the increased success rate of Indian companies in getting Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) approvals. India also offers vast opportunities in R&D as well as medical tourism. To sum up, there are vast opportunities for investment in healthcare infrastructure in both urban and rural India.
