INDIA IS TODAY on the cusp of global leadership, boasting an economic heft that will propel it into the top three economies, with a projected GDP of $7.3 trillion by 2030. The numbers support this optimism, with GDP growth in the first quarter of 2025-26 growing at a robust 7.8%.

Yet, a fundamental question demands our attention — can we truly be a global leader if our 1.4-billion-strong population and the workforce that powers our economy are not healthy? Gro Harlem Brundtland, former WHO director-general, always reiterated the message that “health is central to development”. No country can rise to great heights if illness and poor health are holding its people back.

This means India’s demographic dividend can quickly become a liability if we do not safeguard the population’s health. Studies show that air pollution costs India about 1.36% of its GDP in health-related losses, while diseases and premature deaths linked to tobacco use account for an additional 1% GDP loss.

The most important step to safeguard our growth is to shift our focus from illness to wellness and from cure to prevention. This means regular preventive healthcare and routine health check-ups as the first line of defence. Early intervention, before it develops into a medical crisis, reduces the overall burden of diseases and saves enormous costs in the long run.

Nowhere is the need for prevention more evident than in the realm of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), where ailments like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and stroke have shown a huge surge over the past three decades. Today, NCDs are the leading cause of death and suffering in India, now contributing to roughly 65% of all deaths.

We need a highly defined, proactive strategy to minimise the impact of NCDs. The recent ‘Health of the Nation’ report by Apollo Hospitals found that nearly half of asymptomatic individuals screened were found to have calcium deposits, which are signs of early cardiac disease. Among asymptomatic individuals, 25% with calcium deposits had obstructive coronary artery disease requiring urgent and aggressive treatment. Fatty liver was found in 65%, even as 52% had normal liver enzyme levels. Even more concerning is that NCDs are no longer just adult issues but strike younger, leaving lasting impacts on health and quality of life.

By promoting healthier lifestyles and catching risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, raised blood sugar, a suspicious lump or high cholesterol at an early stage before they lead to diabetes, cancer, or heart disease, we can avert millions of premature deaths and disabilities. The good news is that we are better equipped than ever to implement wide-scale preventive care, thanks to rapid advances in digital health and artificial intelligence (AI).

Technology is enabling the implementation of preventive healthcare at scale, and embracing these tools will be critical as we build health resilience into our society. Intelligent algorithms can now flag abnormalities in medical images or blood tests with remarkable accuracy. AI-based tools for predictive healthcare include an AI risk score for heart disease that can predict a person’s 10-year risk of a cardiac event with high accuracy, empowering doctors to identify at-risk individuals and advise lifestyle changes or treatments before a heart attack or stroke ever occurs.

Telemedicine platforms mean that anyone, even in the rural hinterland, can consult a doctor or specialist without traveling long distances. Mobile apps and wearable devices now empower individuals to monitor their own health metrics, encouraging people to take charge of their wellness daily.

India stands to lose $4.58 trillion before 2030 due to NCDs and mental health conditions. Corporate leaders are increasingly acknowledging that employee wellness is not just an HR issue but a strategic imperative for competitiveness. Poor health among staff leads to absenteeism, low productivity, and higher medical costs, dragging down a company’s efficiency. I would urge every major employer in India to invest in employee health and embed preventive health checks and wellness programmes into their workplace culture. The private sector and government must also work hand in hand to embed preventive healthcare into both corporate practice and public policy, so that a large-scale change in health outcomes takes place.

The question “Can India be a global leader without a healthy population?” is rhetorical — the reality is that a healthy population is the prerequisite for our global ambitions in the 21st century. Making preventive healthcare a national priority is no longer optional; it is an urgent imperative to safeguard our nation’s health resilience as it moves on the path to becoming a leader in the global economy!

(Views are personal.)