Ensure improved access and affordability, of quality secondary and tertiary care services in underserved areas Alleviate pressure on the public healthcare system by absorbing patients that would otherwise use public healthcare.

Following the surge in teleconsultations for healthcare following COVID19, the changed demand-side behaviour will lead to the growth of business models in this space with ensured outreach to areas beyond Tier I and II cities.

Success potential is limited to smaller hospitals as low margins attract only existing chains that can share resources among different hospitals to improve margins.

Hospitals have just started to adopt the model and so the unit economics are not proven and this may affect breadth of impact.

Model will be impactful when universal health coverage is ensured by the Government under Ayushman Bharat.

Improvement in access to quality and affordable healthcare by populations in peri-urban and rural areas through better medical infrastructure and care.

Strong policy momentum driven by a number of strategic interventions in National Health Mission and the national disease control programmes (4.10)

GOI announced USD 9.87 billion outlay for the healthcare sector that is inclusive of USD 915.72 million for Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) scheme, which aims at providing a health cover for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization to over 100 million poor and vulnerable families (approximately 500 million), in Union Budget 2020-21 (4.10)

Ayushman Bharat, the world's largest healthcare scheme (4.14), was launched to achieve the vision of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) (4.15)

As of November 2019, about 6.4 million people received free treatment under the Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (4.10) The mission improves the purchasing capacity of lower-income groups, thereby providing a larger addressable market for healthcare centres. In July 2019, the scheme enrolled 16,085 hospitals, including 8,059 private hospitals and 7,980 public hospitals (4.10)

Financial incentives: FDI policies are also encouraging the private sector. 100% FDI is allowed under the automatic route for greenfield projects and for brownfield project investments, up to 100% FDI is permitted under the government route (4.10)

Financial incentives: FDI policies are also encouraging the private sector. 100% FDI is allowed under the automatic route for greenfield projects and for brownfield project investments, up to 100% FDI is permitted under the government route (4.10)

Medical Council registers medical professionals and sets the standard of medical practice, 'disciplines' the professionals, monitors their activities and checks any malpractice. Doctors who set up their own clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, polyclinics, etc., have to register with the respective local body (4.14)

The regulatory guidelines for healthcare in India are often considered complex, time-consuming to comply with and unclear. Changing regulations have often impacted private hospital chains (4.16)

Investors: KKR & Co., Mitsui & Co., Symphony International Holdings Limited, Foundation Holdings, Temasek Holdings, West Street Capital Partners, LGT Lightstone Aspada, CDC Group, International Finance Corporation, Kois Invest, Healthquad Advisors Private Limited, IDFC Private Equity, Mohair Investment and Trading Co., Evolvence Capital, Lok Capital Group, TrueNorth, General Atlantic invested in the largest disclosed deals in the hospital, clinic and healthcare facilities vertical between 2017-2019 (4.17) (4.18)

Corporations: Many corporate hospitals have been expanding to Tier 2 cities. Vaatsalya Healthcare is one of the first hospital chains to start focus on tier II and tier III for expansion (4.10) Narayana has expanded to Lucknow and Bhubaneshwar. Apollo is tapping Tier-II markets in Nashik, Indore, Vishakhapatnam, Guwahati and Tiruchi. Shalby is expanding operations in Jaipur, Mohali and Surat, while Max is tapping into the Tier-II markets of Mohali, Dehradun and Bhatinda. Max will also be making an entry into Moradabad soon. Manipal Health Enterprises is eyeing organic and inorganic acquisitions in Jaipur, Salem and Vishakhapatnam (4.19) Columbia Asia Hospitals Pvt. Ltd., Paras Healthcare Pvt. Ltd also operate healthcare facilities outside the metros (4.18) Radiant Life Care Private Limited develops, redevelops, manages, and operates health care facilities (4.18) A number of providers are also operating specialty clinics and hospitals such as ASG Eye Hospital LTD., Dr. Agarwals Health Care Limited, Deep Chand Dialysis Centre and Dr. Mohan's Diabetes Speciality Centre. (4.18)

There are a number of industry associations such as Indian Medical Association, The Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (4.10) and the Healthcare Federation of India "NATHEALTH"

Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Odisha, Assam and Manipur Many states lie below the national level figure of 0.55 beds per 1000 population, these include Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Odisha, Assam and Manipur. These 12 states together account for close to 70% of the total population in India (4.4)