Healthcare is emerging as one of India’s most consequential real estate opportunities.
Our veteran contributor on Community Health Affairs *Dr. Naresh Purohit (Principle Investigator-Assn. of Studies In Behavioural Sciences), mulls over the proliferation of Medical profession into a lucrative Real Estate industry!
Udaipur / New Delhi: Executive Member of the Federation of Hospital Administrators, Dr Naresh Purohit said that “Healthcare is emerging as one of India’s most consequential real estate opportunities, 
not simply because demand for care is increasing, but because the country needs a far deeper and more distributed physical healthcare network”.
Sharing insights on this issue after addressing a seminar on “Challenges in developing healthcare infrastructure” organised by the Udaipur based Indian Institute of Management,
Principal Investigator for the Association of Studies of Healthcare Dr Purohit pointed that India is projected to require an additional 2.6 billion. sq. ft. of healthcare real estate by 2035, driven by the need for nearly 2.9 million incremental hospital beds, to align with the current global healthcare infrastructure benchmark.
Executive Member- Indian Medical Academy For Preventive Health revealed that India currently has approximately 1.6 hospital beds per 1,000 people, significantly below the global average of 3.3 per 1,000. To close this capacity gap, the country’s total healthcare real estate footprint would need to expand substantially from an estimated 2.1 billion sq. ft. in 2025. The requirement presents a significant opportunity for developers, investors and healthcare operators to create purpose-built and scalable healthcare assets across markets.
Renowned medic highlighted significant disparities in healthcare infrastructure across states. He averred that Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand have low hospital bed density compared with their non- communicable disease (NCD) burden, indicating potential unmet demand for secondary and tertiary healthcare services. Meanwhile, states such as Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana have relatively stronger 
healthcare infrastructure and higher household incomes, supporting further expansion of specialised healthcare facilities and medical ecosystems.
“Built-to-suit (BTS) structures can play an important role in addressing this requirement by providing operators with specialised, purpose-built clinical infrastructure aligned with their operational and regulatory needs. This would allow healthcare providers to direct more capital towards clinical services, medical equipment and technology, while offering property owners greater income visibility through long-term leases.” he emphasised.
He averred that beyond conventional hospitals, the sector is also witnessing the growth of diagnostic centres, day-care surgery centres, wellness and preventive healthcare formats, including health screening centres, rehabilitation clinics, eye-care centres, IVF centres and vaccination facilities, particularly in urban locations. Experts sought the attention of government authorities that despite recent advancements, India’s healthcare infrastructure is still inadequate to serve its population of over 1.4 billion
They pointed that the country needs an estimated 2.4 million additional hospital beds to meet the WHO’s recommendation of five beds per 1,000 people.
Currently, the bed-to-patient ratio is significantly below global standards, with rural areas disproportionately affected.
*Dr. Narresh Purohit-MD, DNB, DIH, MHA, MRCP(UK), is an Epidemiologist, 
and Advisor-National Communicable Disease Control Program of Govt. of India, Madhya Pradesh and several state Health organizations. He’s the Principle Investigator – Association of Studies In Behavioural Science), Dr. Purohit is also Advisor-National Mental Health Program .
