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Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, has stressed on developing new infrastructure for the healthcare sector in view of the tremendous opportunities that are available for public-private partnership. Speaking at the 4th India Health Summit “Healthcare Engagement: Strategies and partnerships” here today, the Minister said: “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”. Dr. C. Prathap C. Reddy, Chairman of Apollo Group of Hospitals also addressed on the occasion. The 2-day Summit has been organised jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Indian Healthcare Federation.
Shri Kamal Nath stated that there are five areas for government and organized industry action in the healthcare sector, i.e., to create low-cost, high-quality facilities, with a focus on underserved areas; second is to work towards creating standards for high-quality healthcare; third is to invest in training and developing healthcare manpower; fourth is to work with health insurers to improve coverage; and fifth and most important is to create public-private partnerships in healthcare.
According to the joint study by CII and McKinsey on this sector, Shri Kamal Nath informed: “During the 1990s, Indian healthcare grew at a compound annual rate of 16%. Today the total value of the sector is more than $34 billion. This translates to $ 34 per capita, or roughly 6% of GDP. By 2012, India’s healthcare sector is projected to grow to nearly $ 40 billion”.
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