Is Healthcare a Growing Industry?

An industry is said to have gained a major market share when it reflects its omnipresence in the global as well the regional market. Health, being one of the critical most concerns of the modern day, has become the building block for the growth of the healthcare industry on the whole. This industry caters to a huge horizon of services starting from direct treatment-related activities to support functions. Among many industries that have been showing constant growth potential over the past few years, Healthcare is surely one among the top showing huge volume expansion and a massive spread of services offered under it. The industry is still showing an upward trend in growth in terms of employment opportunities as well as revenue generation.

The Multilayered Structure

The primary components of the healthcare industry include hospitals, clinical trials, medical devices, telemedicine, outsourcing, health insurance, medical tourism, and medical equipment. Owing to its firm coverage and swelling expenditure contributions from the private and public players, the healthcare industry has assumed a steady rate of growth.

Out of the two major players in this domain, the public sector hospitals are primarily concentrated in the Metro cities as secondary and tertiary care institutes and the rural areas as PHCs. The private hospitals mostly cater to the metros, tier one, and tier two cities through majorly secondary, tertiary, and quaternary care institutes. This ensures an egalitarian distribution of healthcare facilities across the boundaries. Overall development refers to regional growth as well. Hence, with a considerable number of health centers getting opened at rural corners of India, distribution of healthcare services has attained a faster pace and has become a lot more equal for all. According to the market speculations, by the year 2022, India is expected to set a benchmark of Rs. 8.6 trillion in terms of growth of the healthcare industry.

The Growth Potential

With its multifaceted existence, the healthcare industry has shown elements of growth that will surely bring a rise of almost 22-25% in medical tourism. The entire industry is expecting a volume increment of 100% within one financial year that is from FY2017 to FY2018. With the multiple development measures taken up by the government, India has experienced a rise in the GDP from 5.6% in July 2017 to 8.2% in July 2018. As a direct consequence, the government expenditure channeled towards the healthcare sector has gone up by 0.2%. In another span of 6-7 years, the government is planning to increase the expenditure by 2.5% of the nation’s GDP. Alongside, there would an enhancement related to the healthcare services dependent on the rise in budget allocation towards this sector.

The Growth of The Ancillary Domains

Apart from hospitals, there are more avenues attached to it that contribute toward the healthcare industry. The diagnostic centers depend largely on the foreign direct investment (FDI). In recent years, there has been considerable growth in the percentage of FDI flowing into this industry. According to a report published by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), USD $5.25 Billion is the amount of FDI invested in the support wings. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, India has signed an MOU with Cuba to facilitate the healthcare industry in terms of services and medicine. (Refer https://www.ibef.org/industry/healthcare-india.aspx for more related information.) There are business giants who are willing to make active investments to the hospital chains making the scenario even rosier.

The Government Initiatives Encouraging Growth

Health being a primary subject in the state list, the government has launched an insurance policy addressing the mass called, Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) in 2018, involving a considerable amount of INR 5 Lakhs. Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission is another central initiative that focuses on the overall benefit of the people spread across the boundaries of the country with special provisions for backward areas. Mission Indradhanush was an initiative taken by the central government to improve the process of immunization across India. The motto of this mission is to cover most of the children in rural and urban areas to guarantee effective and timely immunization.

The Future Has Massive Growth in Store

With huge capital getting invested in the industry and government interventions taking place, the healthcare industry is the future face for India. India has a competitive edge over the other markets in terms of price, which promises to be a propelling force to its growth. Every sector associated with the healthcare industry has the potential to grow and to become a big player in the market. Many of the Indian companies are getting the Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) approval which in turn will be beneficial for the industry. The industry is pregnant with opportunities for growth and can become a leader in almost no time.