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Healthcare has become one of India’s largest sectors, both in terms of revenue and employment. Healthcare comprises hospitals, medical devices, clinical trials, outsourcing, telemedicine, medical tourism, health insurance and medical equipment. The Indian healthcare sector is growing at a brisk pace due to its strengthening coverage, services, and increasing expenditure by public as well private players.
India’s healthcare delivery system is categorised into two major components - public and private. The government, i.e., public healthcare system, comprises limited secondary and tertiary care institutions in key cities and focuses on providing basic healthcare facilities in the form of Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs) in rural areas. The private sector provides majority of secondary, tertiary, and quaternary care institutions with major concentration in metros, tier-I, and tier-II cities.
India's competitive advantage lies in its large pool of well-trained medical professionals. India is also cost competitive compared to its peers in Asia and western countries. The cost of surgery in India is about one-tenth of that in the US or Western Europe. The low cost of medical services has resulted in a rise in the country’s medical tourism, attracting patients from across the world. Moreover, India has emerged as a hub for R&D activities for international players due to its relatively low cost of clinical research.
The Indian healthcare sector is expected to record a three-fold rise, growing at a CAGR of 22% between 2016–22 to reach US$ 372 billion in 2022 from US$ 110 billion in 2016. By FY22, Indian healthcare infrastructure is expected to reach US$ 349.1 billion.
India’s public expenditure on healthcare touched 2.1 % of GDP in FY23 and 2.2% in FY22, against 1.6% in FY21, as per the Economic Survey 2022-23.
In FY22, premiums underwritten by health insurance companies grew to Rs. 73,582.13 crore (US$ 9.21 billion). The health segment has a 33.33% share in the total gross written premiums earned in the country.
The Indian medical tourism market was valued at US$ 2.89 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach US$ 13.42 billion by 2026. According to India Tourism Statistics at a Glance 2020 report, close to 697,300 foreign tourists came for medical treatment in India in FY19. India has been ranked tenth in the Medical Tourism Index (MTI) for 2020-21 out of 46 destinations by the Medical Tourism Association.
The e-health market size is estimated to reach US$ 10.6 billion by 2025.
As per information provided to the Lok Sabha by the Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar, the doctor population ratio in the country is 1:854, assuming 80% availability of 12.68 lakh registered allopathic doctors and 5.65 lakh AYUSH doctors.
Between April 2000-June 2022, FDI inflow for the drugs and pharmaceuticals sector stood at US$ 19.90 billion, according to the data released by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). During 2022-23 (up to December 2022) Foreign Direct Investment, (FDI) inflow in India stood at US$ 36,746 million. Some of the recent developments in the Indian healthcare industry are as follows: