India's healthcare industry to see mammoth growth: McKinsey

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The fledgling healthcare industry in India is set to become a mammoth sized sector. A latest study by global management consultants McKinsey predicts that India's healthcare industry will reach a staggering USD 190 billion mark in less than two decades.

 

Call it lack of public health services or disinterest in medical research, the Indian health care sector has shown lack luster growth so far. But that's set to change if the latest findings of global consultants McKinsey are anything to go by.

 

The study reveals that health care consumption in India will grow at 10.8% annually to reach USD 190 billion from its present size of just USD 25 billion.

 

The report says increasing health awareness among the youth, metropolitan lifestyle and increasing percentage of household expenditure on health are the key reasons for this growth.

 

The McKinsey report says that rural healthcare is also set to show strong growth and will account for almost half of the total consumption on healthcare in the country.

 

Industry experts say that could be the reason for companies like Wockhardt, Apollo and even Reliance Industries to make their early moves in the rural health care sector.

 

While a cardiac procedure costs anything between USD 40,000-60,000 in the US, in India it would cost you a mere USD 3000-6000. Also, the success rate of cardiac bypass in India is 98.7% against 97.5% in U.S. This is also making India a popular destination for tourists to avail of the health services.

 

To cash in on this growth healthcare groups are using different strategies.

 

While Dr Naresh Trehan 's Global Health Pvt Ltd has started a USD 250 million project titled "Medicity" to tap Medical tourism , Apollo group has started "First Med" to reach out to smaller towns

 

So as the industry gets set to take off, the McKinsey report suggests, major players from Indian and overseas are looking to tapping all the available opportunities.