Despite being 5th largest economy, India ranks 66th in health security index

India is the fifth-largest economy in the world, growing faster than any other country for the past several years. It is predicted to become the third largest in only three years from now. It now has the second-largest road network as well as a rapidly growing air, rail, and port transportation network, with about 8 airports being built every year and 3 metro routes completed every two years, which is serving as a skeletal framework for physical transformation.

In terms of digital infrastructure, India is the third-largest country. It is rightly said that infrastructure is the backbone of a country and what builds economies. The celebrated president of the largest economy in the world – US, John F. Kennedy, stated, “It is not our wealth that built our roads, but our roads that built our wealth.”But it is equally true that the workforce of an enterprise or a country drives the economy and sustains growth. Nobel laureate and Bharat Ratan Amartya Sen famously said, “Growth without investment in human development is unsustainable and unethical.”

However, India today ranks 66th in the health security index, which is primarily due to inadequate infrastructure and a shortage of healthcare professionals in comparison to the population. This becomes far worse for rural India due to the sharp fall in the availability of healthcare facilities, with around 75% of health infrastructure and resources concentrated in urban areas where only about 27% of the of the population lives. About 86% of the medical visits are from residents of rural India, with the majority traveling more than 100 km. 70% of Indians living in rural areas spend most of their earnings on food and housing rather than healthcare. Approximately 70–80% of them pay their medical bills out-of-pocket. They obtain this money primarily by selling their household assets and mortgaging their ornaments, followed by income and savings. India ranks 154th in health spending with a current budget allocation of only 1.25% of GDP. It is lowest amongst its other BRICS counterparts—Brazil (9.2), South Africa (8.1), Russia (5.3), and China (5)—and even lower than its neighbors such as Bhutan (2.5) and Sri Lanka (1.6).

Thus, the majority of the population falls short of accessing proper medical care due to financial constraints, poor penetration of health infrastructure, weak public healthcare, and an expensive private sector heavily concentrated in urban locations with their own set of challenges. However, as they say, “life finds a way.” The problem has found a solution in the form of some social entrepreneurs who are driven enough to bring about pivotal change and serve underprivileged areas with good skills, the right dedication, and apt business acumen. One such group that has emerged in the diagnostic healthcare system is Tirupati Diagnostics and Labs. Helmed by Dr Vikram Pratap Singh, a super-specialized radiologist educated at Harvard and Medanta, Tirupati diagnostics and labs have proven this formula works.

In the past 3 years, they have shown how one can deliver high-quality, super-specialized diagnostic care even in some of the most underprivileged parts of Haryana, i.e., Palwal and Mewat. These areas have historically lagged in healthcare infrastructure and the availability of skilled workers, both in the public and private sectors.

They have ushered in super-specialized diagnostic infrastructure and reporting to this region and introduced more than 100 new types of diagnostic tests never done before in this part of Haryana, with the region’s first MRI and Fibroscan machine, to name a few. To address high maternal and fetal deaths and ailments in this area, they introduced complete fetal medicine and maternal care workup with fetal echo, doppler, anomaly scans, and specialized blood tests along with Obs-Gynec MRI.

With a background of super-specialization in advanced body and Musculoskeletal imaging, Dr Vikram has also set up liver, gut, and MSK imaging suits to evaluate the high prevalence of viral and alcoholic liver diseases, gut infections, as well as trauma and sports injury.

They have strategically placed themselves next to the public transport hubs, significantly improving accessibility for rural patients. With this, they have significantly reduced the travel distance required, with 35% of patients coming from within the 5km range and approximately 65% coming from 30 to 40km. They achieve profitability by optimizing their operations costs, providing services at more affordable rates, and taking good healthcare facilities directly to rural areas, increasing footfall and making it sustainable.

Dr Vikram explains his vision, stating that “Tirupati, i.e., Vishnu, means ‘all pervasive’. We believe divinity lies everywhere and in everyone, and there is nothing more divine than serving the left-out and neediest parts of the country. We believe this is the need of the hour to usher in the modern Bharat of Amrit Kaal. We truly believe in the vision of the government for the private sector to contribute to the upliftment of society and to commence the much-deserved Amrit Kaal.” Business Standard