Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated the the 6th edition of Advantage Healthcare India (AHCI) 2023, a G20 co-branded event, through a video message. The event was also marked with the presence of Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare & Chemicals and Fertilizers, Dr V K Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, Shri Prem Singh Tamang, Chief Minister, Sikkim and Prof. Dr Manik Saha, Chief Minister, Tripura.
Moreover, Health Ministers of seven countries (Bangladesh, Maldives, Somalia, Armenia, Bhutan, Nigeria and Egypt), along with Keshab Mahanta, Health Minister, Assam, Dr Dhani Ram Shandil, Health Minister, Himachal Pradesh and Bedu Singh Panth, Tourism Minister, Sikkim were also present.
On the sidelines of the event, Financial Express.com got the opportunity to speak to Dr. Raajiv Singhal, Managing Director & Group CEO, Marengo Asia Hospitals and he highlighted the India has the potential of becoming the preferred choice for availing advanced healthcare facilities.
“Every person on earth has a right to basically stay healthy and if you look at the entire globe, what is happening is a lot of places there are advanced healthcare systems, there are not so much advanced healthcare systems, there are less developed healthcare systems…if the world unites and more collaborative approach is taken…you can actually ask people to travel to places. If I again bring back to this country…in all the cities of this nation…there is no uniform access to facilities…People travel for cardiac surgeries, people travel oncological care, why is this possible? because there are certain areas that is developed. India can be the answer to another country’s problem in transplants, oncology, and therapies that are not practised there that will be of great help. So this is I think something that is crucial and important and much more doable,” Dr. Singhal told Financial Express.com.
While discussing the hospital group’s upcoming business and growth plans, Dr. Singhal informed Financial Express.com that they are planning to acquire few hospital to strengthen themselves.
“The financial goals are very simple. We want to grow as a company infact, in the last 15 months we have around increased to around 1600 beds. Our objective will be to few more hospitals in this financial year so that we strengthen are strongholds in various areas. Today, we are in Northern and Western part of India we will consolidate these two geographies so that we have a very sizeable presence as far as these two locations are concerned. We call this Phase 1 and after that we will expand beyond these geographies in the country,” he said.
Dr. Singhal also highlighted the importance of AI in healthcare and how it can help in improving patient care.
“When we today look at AI and its usage in healthcare, somewhere it is more about coalition of that data, analysis of that data and then people are moving predictability of this data. Having said that I think that is the biggest opportunity. India being the most populous country now where the variety and spectrum of the disease which people will come across, is going to be a great support in developing the future of medicine in the entire world,” he said.
Meanwhile, on the impact of India’s presidency over G20 this year, Dr. Singhal said that its an opportunity for India to showcase its leadership potential in the healthcare space.
“We are leading the G20 this year and we do not just have the financial goals that we have to drive but we are also looking at holistic view. It means we have to showcase to the people that we are leaders in healthcare. Most importantly, if you look at the stat, nearly 30 percents of the doctors in US or the West are of Indian-origin. Clinical and nursing talent has never been a concern for India. Now we have the infrastructure and the way the government is working in trying to support…I think future is very bright for all of us,” he added.
The 6th edition of AHCI also had panel discussions with speakers and experts from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Ministry of AYUSH, industry fora, startups, etc., along with interactive sessions with the stakeholders.
Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary, Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, AYUSH, G Kamala Vardhana Rao, CEO, FSSAI, Shri Lav Agrawal, Addl. Secretary, Health Ministry, Dr Sangeeta Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals and Ex-President, FICCI and representatives from leading Indian Hospitals and Healthcare Wellness Organizations were also present at the event.
