Capital - New Delhi
28°34'N 77°12'E Largest city- Mumbai (Bombay) also known as financial capital of India Official language(s)- Hindi, English, and 21 other languages
Area - Total 3,287,590 kmē (7th largest in the world)
Water (%) 9.56
Population
2006 est. - 1,095,351,995 (2nd largest in the world)
Population Density - 329/kmē
GDP (PPP) 2005 estimate
Total $3.633 trillion (4th highest in the world)
Per capita $3344 Currency - Rupee (INR)
Time zone
Summer (DST) IST (UTC+5:30)
not observed (UTC+5:30) Internet TLD - .in
Calling code +91 Top
Healthcare Sector
The Indian healthcare sector has been growing at a frenetic pace in the past few years. The windfall began ever since the developed world discovered that it could get quality service for less than half the price.
The sector is expected to post the highest year-on-year growth in earnings in the fiscal year to March 31, 2007, says Reuters. It is set to post a 42 per cent rise in earnings in the year to March 2007. These figures are driven by availability of quality healthcare and the huge rise in numbers visiting India for treatment.
The number of patients visiting India for medical treatment has risen from 10,000 in 2000 to about 100,000 in 2005. With an annual growth rate of 30 per cent, India is already inching closer to Singapore, an established medicare hub that attracts 150,000 medical tourists a year.
The healthcare industry employs over four million people, making it one of the largest service sectors in the economy. A joint study by the Confederation of Indian Industry and McKinsey shows: ·
At the current pace of growth, medical tourism, currently pegged at US$ 350 million, has the potential to grow into a US$ 2 billion industry by 2012.
Healthcare spending in the country will double over the next 10 years. Private healthcare will form a large chunk of this spending, rising from Rs 690 billion (US$ 14.8 billion) to Rs 1,560 billion (US$ 33.6 billion) in 2012. This figure could rise by an additional Rs 390 billion (US$ 8.4 billion) if health insurance cover is available to the rich and the middle class.
The voluntary health insurance market, which is estimated at Rs 4 billion (US$ 86.3 million) currently, is growing fast. Industry estimates put the figure at Rs 130 billion (US$ 2.8 billion) by 2005. ·
With the expected increase in the pharmaceutical market, the total healthcare market could rise from Rs 1,030 billion (US$ 22.2 billion) currently (5.2 per cent of GDP) to Rs 2,320 billion (US$ 50 billion)-Rs 3,200 billion (US$ 69 billion) (6.2-8.5 per cent of GDP) by 2012.
However, it is not only the cost advantage that keeps the sector ticking. It has a high success rate and a growing credibility.
Indian specialists have performed over 500,000 major surgeries and over a million other surgical procedures including cardio-thoracic, neurological and cancer surgeries, with success rates at par with international standards.
The success rate in the 43,000 cardiac surgeries till 2002 was 98.5 per cent.
India's success in 110 bone marrow transplants is 80 per cent.
The success rate in 6,000 renal transplants is 95 per cent.
Ratings
India's independent credit rating agency CRISIL has assigned a grade A rating to super speciality hospitals like Escorts and multi speciality hospitals like Apollo.
NHS of the UK has indicated that India is a favoured destination for surgeries. · The British Standards Institute has now accredited the Delhi-based Escorts Hospital.
Apollo Group - India's largest private hospital chain and Wockhardt Hospital are now JCI accredited
The territory of India constitutes a major portion of the Indian subcontinent, situated on the Indian Plate, the northerly portion of the Indo-Australian Plate, in southern Asia. India's northern and northeastern states are partially situated in the Himalayan Mountain Range. The rest of northern, central and eastern India consists of the fertile Indo-Gangetic plain. In the west, bordering southeast Pakistan, lies the Thar Desert. The southern Indian Peninsula is almost entirely composed of the Deccan plateau, which is flanked by two hilly coastal ranges, the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats.
India is home to several major rivers, including the Ganga, Brahmaputra, Yamuna, Godavari, Kaveri, Narmada, and Krishna. India has three archipelagos - Lakshadweep off the southwest coast, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands volcanic island chain to the southeast, and the Sunderbans in the Gangetic delta in West Bengal.
Climate in India varies from tropical in the south to more temperate in the Himalayan north, with elevated regions in the north receiving sustained snowfall in winters. India's climate is strongly influenced by the Himalayas and the Thar Desert. The Himalayas, along with the Hindu Kush mountains in Pakistan, provide a barrier to the cold winds from Central Asia. This keeps most of the Indian subcontinent warmer than most locations in similar latitudes. The Thar Desert is responsible for attracting the moisture laden southwest monsoon winds in that provide most of India's rainfall between June to September.
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