A Detailed Analysis of the Indian Healthcare Industry

Buoyed up by the amiable economic climate and favorable demographic variations, the Indian healthcare industry has been experiencing an exceptional upswing in the recent decades. Being one of the fast-growing sectors in the global arena, the Indian healthcare is emerging as the most promising market among many other developing countries.

The diverse and wide spectrum of the country’s healthcare sector has paved way for enormous advancements and trends to emerge and successfully grow in the economy. Having a comprehensive insight into this burgeoning Indian healthcare industry would help analyze the present and future opportunities emerging within the sector.

The Current Scenario of the Indian Healthcare Industry:

The present scenario of the healthcare industry in India is upbeat and is propelled by various factors such as growing economy, changing demographics, increasing prevalence of lifestyle diseases, rising disposable incomes, and new investment avenues. Currently, the Indian healthcare industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of 16.5 percent in the next five years, with the present total market size touching $160 billion, which is estimated to reach $280 billion by 2020. (Source: https://www.ibef.org) 

As a result of this unprecedented growth, the Indian healthcare is seeing immense opportunities in the areas of diagnostic labs, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and hospital infrastructure. Furthermore, new trends and emerging fields such as medical tourism, telemedicine, clinical trials and research has also posed new avenues for the growth of the sector. In light of these existing opportunities in the healthcare industry, the country is poised to continue its soaring momentum of growth in the coming years, and as a result, the industry is all set to stand at the top of the service sectors in the country’s economy.

The Indian healthcare sector today is able to tap into talented, cost-effective, and well-trained human resources to strengthen the country’s quality of healthcare services and delivery in the global sphere. As a result, the sector is becoming one of the leading global hubs for several healthcare-related services and particularly medical tourism is soaring up. Similarly, the high-end diagnostic services in India contributed by the tremendous capital investment in this segment has placed it as one of the leading diagnostic facility destinations in the global sphere. With such competitive advantage, the Indian healthcare industry, with adequate support from government and private players, is sure to find an edge over the global market in the forthcoming years.

The growing geriatric population, reducing healthcare expenditure, the uptick of medical tourism and the emergence of telemedicine, is creating a well-disposed atmosphere for the Indian healthcare market. So far, the Indian healthcare industry has been one of the largest sectors contributing to the country’s economy, in terms of employment and revenue. The high-quality healthcare delivery led by world-class medical centers and the highly skilled medical professionals are the contributing factors to the sector’s growth and development, particularly for the contribution of revenue and employment.

No doubt, the Indian healthcare is growing at a tremendous pace catalyzed by the public and private players facilitating investment and support. As of today, the private players' investment has accounted for 74 percent of the total healthcare expenditure in the country. Despite all the challenges and inefficiency, the Indian healthcare sector is holding a robust domestic market potential with the private players emerging as a vibrant force lending national and global repute to the sector.

Role of the Government:

Apart from the private players strengthening the healthcare segment, the Indian government, on its part, is making efforts to promote the sector and has aimed to develop the country as a leading global healthcare hub. The government has postulated positive regulations and policies by introducing Health Bill and other initiatives to increase public expenditure, encourage public-private partnerships (PPP), and boost medical tourism. So far, the public healthcare expenditure has been increased from 1 percent to 2.5 percent and all the independent medical bodies have been proposed to be brought under a centralized authority. Moreover, the government of India and the Ministry of Health has targeted the development of more than fifty technologies for the treatment of diseases like TB and cancer.

The government has also been emphasizing on the eHealth initiatives such as Facilitation Centre (MCTFC) and Mother & Child Tracking System (MCTS) to deliver healthcare services with efficiency. Also, to improve coverage of immunization in the country’s rural areas for pregnant women and children, the government has created the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI).  Recently, the Union Cabinet under the National Health Mission has approved a budget of $ 13.16 billion for the term of 2017-2020 to encourage medical infrastructure in the country. With such government policies encouraging industry growth, the Indian healthcare sector is able to grow and expand further in the global market.

Emerging Trends:

With the advancement of technology, the telemedicine and e-health services have become a fast-emerging trend in India as major hospitals are adopting these e-services to provide enhanced healthcare to the public. Simultaneously, India is promoting quality healthcare services and delivery at cost-effective prices by introducing health cities and single specialty clinics. Adding to that, the increasing penetration of health insurance portability is aiming to improve the quality of healthcare services and delivery as well as to raise competition among private insurers.

With the increasing competition and demand, healthcare organizations are exploring latest trends and dynamics to create a positive impact in the sphere. Today, the Indian healthcare sector is much more diversified, having a wide range of opportunities in every segment of healthcare providers, consumers, and medical technology.

The industry’s competitive advantage lies in its quality services and highly-skilled medical professionals that add substantial efficiency to the healthcare delivery. However, there are challenges and lags in boosting healthcare infrastructure, investment efficiency and government involvement in order to strengthen the healthcare systems and achieve universal health coverage. It is high time that the Indian healthcare industry sorts out its existing inefficiencies and prepare the healthcare system to become competent with the modern era of healthcare application and management.