This pandemic is far from over, however as the outbreak constitute a never before challenge to the hospitals and health system; in response the ecosystems did swiftly geared themselves to meet these unprecedented challenges and delivered at their capacity. At the same time, because of the deficiencies of infrastructure in some urban and rural parts, society at large and the administration realized the importance of hospital infrastructure and that is presenting a once in a lifetime opportunity for the sector. On the whole, heightened awareness and the needs of healthcare has marked a beginning of a golden era that’s going to last for a decade to come.

It was an interesting read in the recent edition Forbes India, on Max Healthcare Institute, that the “CMD has turnaround his hospital chain and becomes a billionaire”. You often read the names of usual suspects making it to the list of billionaire and their ranking & net worth etc. However, it is interesting to note that, this story is of a hospital entrepreneur, speaks volumes for this sector.

If you look at NIFTY healthcare index which reflect the behavior and performance of the healthcare companies listed on the national stock exchange. Healthcare has become one of the largest sectors of the Indian economy and it will continue to grow in double digit in terms of revenue. The annual reports of leading listed hospitals reflects that most of them are talking about calibrated expansion and best-in-class doctors and healthcare experts. They continue to attract top medical professionals with industry reputation and providing superior facilities with advanced technology and medical devices. Agility within and of itself is a strategy says, leader in this category.

Another interesting development is, recently released list of “World’s Best 2000 Hospitals 2021” by Newsweek, India finds more than 60 of its top hospitals in the list. This is the list of 25 countries, including the developed economies such as United States, many European nations including Germany, France and prominent countries in Asia like South Korea, Singapore and Australia. The ranking criteria as they mentioned is based on hospitals consistent excellence, including distinguished physicians, top-notch nursing care and state-of-the-art technology they use to deliver patient care. It is quite obvious that some reputed names would make it to the top hospital list however, there are hospitals across the geographies from private sectors and some of them operates a chain of hospitals features in the list which is an evidence that Indian hospitals are world class and the growth story continues.

Hospital and healthcare opportunity in India is huge. The national health policy estimates that the market is going to witness an exponential growth and would be valued at multi-billion dollar in size. Heightened healthcare awareness, policy framework, demand for quality care, participation of India’s Tier-II cities and growing healthcare needs of urban and rural population will remain the key driver of this sustained growth for years to come.

Disclaimer- Views mentioned in the article are solely personal.