By 2050, India’s population is expected to reach 1.

7 billion people, creating the most

populated country in the world. Growth of the Indian population and transition of its
demography will need for leapfrogging in healthcare delivery including transformation of
public healthcare system. Major shifts await healthcare industry in India.
What lies ahead?
India’s demographic and epidemiology profile will witness a change by 2050 which will
demand healthcare sector needs to evolve. India’s population is projected to be 1.7 billion in
2050 with maximum number of people in the working age group of 15 to 64 years and
average life expectancy at 80+ years. The old age population is expected to grow to 14%
(from 4% at present) with geriatric health care specialized services such as dementia,
nutritional services and home care services expected to have a larger role. The shift in
demographic patterns and lifestyle trends will necessitate preventive healthcare to reduce cost
of healthcare spend. Moreover nearly 51% of India’s population is expected to live in cities
by 2050 (up from 30% in 2015). Increased urbanization may offer some advantages to the
health care practitioners such as a larger set of population will be accessible for availing
healthcare services at relative lower costs.

Trends shaping future health

India is leapfrogging the use of technology innovations such as mobile health devices,
technology integration with healthcare data and telemedicine strategies which could reduce
the burden from health system while still trying to boost healthier lives, reducing disabilities
and increasing life expectancy. This trend will continue to evolve as there will be a shift in
population profiles, disease burden and care protocols by 2050 and a future will emerge
where chronic diseases are things of the past, patient dependency on public healthcare
systems is minimal and more preventive care is sought for, life threatening diseases such as
TB, Cancer or AIDS are cured and people lead healthy lives post treatment.

Significant investment in research and development activities both from Indian government
and private sector will propel innovations in drugs or improve medical devices. A strong
digital infrastructure with IoT integration across personal devices, hospital and public
healthcare databases will help spur efficient growth. Healthcare Big-Data will be available as
public healthcare systems in India will be digitized and patient data standardized and
interoperable. A wide range of medical and healthcare functions, including clinical diagnosis,
decision support, disease surveillance, and population health management would be possible
through predictive analysis facilitating better preparedness for addressing onset of disease
burden.

Healthcare Pillars for India in 2050

The core healthcare pillars in India will transition to a care delivery model which is more
personalized and focused on preventive and predictive healthcare rather than the reactive and
curative care at present. Health system has started to witness these changes and the future
medical technology is immanent with hope. We are witnessing advancement of emerging
technologies like brain-computer interfaces, nano robots, gene manipulation, robotic surgery,
synthetic organs, organ cloning, individualized drugs, bionic body parts across the developed
world. Many of these technology innovations are here to stay and will be adapted in India in
near future. A more equitable healthcare care delivery system will be established making it
faster, cheaper and better for all income levels to access these services.