India can generate a staggering $774 billion in revenue and create 12 million jobs by 2030 with an investment of $217 billion in healthcare and allied sectors, according to a report.
The collaborative report, titled 'Investing for Impact: Healthcare, Pharma & Healthtech', by Aspire Circle, an impact leadership advocate firm, spelled out top ten investment ideas for India -- preventive and primary healthcare; pharma, drug and vaccine manufacturing; screening, diagnostics and testing; affordable healthcare and operational efficiency; medical tourism; e-healthcare and telecare; health insurance and innovative impact financing; e-pharmacies; medical workforce education and skilling; and gene therapy. "Indian healthcare will become the second most attractive investment sector this decade, behind food, agri and agritech but ahead of BFSI, financial inclusion and fintech. COVID-19 has thrown open India's health infrastructure fault-lines and both entrepreneurs and investors are on an epic mission to convert the crisis into an investment opportunity," said Amit Bhatia, founder of Aspire Circle and creator of Impact Future Project. "The top 10 ideas in our research can lead annual investment growth from $52 billion to $179 billion between 2020 and 2030 and grow related revenues from $183 billion to $610 billion. These top 10 ideas will serve and impact 1.5 billion Indians, create 12 million cumulative jobs and grow the overall sector to a colossal $774 billion by 2030 - an incredible promise worth nurturing," he said. COVID-19 has elevated healthcare and related sectors to the top of the priority list of governments, policymakers and industry in an unprecedented manner, with central government's healthcare expenditure increasing from 1.3 per cent of GDP in 2019-20 to 2.1 per cent of GDP in 2021-22.
In this testing times, when India has registered over 5,13,000 COVID-19 deaths and the disastrous second wave of the pandemic starkly exposed the inadequacies of health infrastructure, this report comes as a ray of hope. Also Read: Mobility start-up Cityflo launches operations in Delhi-NCR; to invest Rs 120 cr
"The last two years have put the healthcare industry in our country through the toughest challenges. The healthcare landscape in the country also threw up the gaps between private and public and urban and rural healthcare like never before. Yet technology interventions have helped to reach out to patients beyond the geographical boundaries of cities and states and cut costs and boost staff productivity while improving overall care and outcomes. Healthcare is now a benchmark for all other verticals of the incredible social impact and welfare with technology disruptions - it has set the template for inclusive healthcare on scale for the future," said Microsoft India President Anant Maheshwari.
The research has been put together with the help of 21 co-authors and six guest contributors, with Capgemini as key sponsor. "Though we in India have progressed a lot in providing healthcare and in increasing longevity, we continue to host world's largest number of blinds, diabetics, patients suffering from cancer, heart and several other diseases. Recent pandemic has only highlighted inadequacy on several fronts in healthcare. Though we produce world class physicians, surgeons and nurses, we are woefully short both in reach and (providing) quality medical care at affordable prices to a vast majority of our population. This clearly can be overcome by the combined might of the government, private sector and individual initiatives," said former Tata Motors CEO Ravi Kant. This was the sixth report of a series of reports by Aspire Circle as part of a larger and overarching programme of generating 100 'Impact Ideas for India's Inclusive Growth' with the country's largest collaborative research initiative involving over 200 experts with an eye on shaping India's economy.
"The ongoing pandemic has brought to sharp focus the structural demand-supply gaps in our country's healthcare systems. The structured brainstorming discussions at the IFP forums have helped prioritize the themes that will likely dominate the country's healthcare and life science sectors over the next decade. Each of the themes shortlisted has a pivotal role to play in driving the sector's enormous growth potential," Tata capital Healthcare Fund Managing Partner Visalakshi Chandramouli said.
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