The Hindu : Business : Windows of opportunities open up for health sector

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 15, 2007
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Windows of opportunities open up for health sector

Staff Reporter

Kamal Nath asks industry to work on low-cost facilities

NEW DELHI: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath on Wednesday said that implementation of the public-private partnership (PPP) model in the healthcare infrastructure sector can help improve the overall health scenario in the country.

“Tremendous opportunities are available in this sector for public-private cooperation that can lead to development of new infrastructure for the healthcare sector. Large windows of opportunities are opening up. To give just one example, Indian medical tourism was estimated at $350 million in 2006 and this has the potential to grow into a $2-billion industry by 2012,” Mr. Kamla Nath said at the 4th India health summit on ‘Healthcare engagement: strategies and partnerships’.

Quoting a joint study by the Confederation of Indian Industry and McKinsey, Mr. Kamal Nath said during the 1990s, Indian healthcare grew at a compound annual rate of 16 per cent. Today, the total value of the sector was more than $34 billion.

This translates to $34 per capita, or roughly 6 per cent of the GDP. By 2012, the healthcare sector in India was projected to grow to nearly $40 billion.

The Minister asked the healthcare industry to work towards creating low-cost high-quality facilities with a focus on underserved areas and high-quality healthcare standards. He also emphasised on the need for investing in training and developing healthcare manpower, working with health insurers to improve coverage and creating public-private partnerships in healthcare.

On the investment required to power India’s healthcare, Mr. Kamal Nath said India was no shortage of funds with many global investors were waiting to invest in the country.

What was needed is a platform or a forum to channelise these investments.

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