Yugen Infra sees integrated healthcare becoming next frontier for township projects

India's healthcare delivery market is expected to grow at a 10-12% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to ₹12 lakh crore by FY30, driven by rising health awareness, ageing demographics, higher insurance penetration and increasing demand for specialised care, according to a recent report by Antique Stock Broking. The brokerage also expects private hospitals to account for nearly 69% of treatments by FY30, while integrated healthcare delivery models and medical tourism emerge as key structural growth drivers.

Against this backdrop, real estate developer Yugen Infra believes integrated healthcare could become the next frontier for township development as developers increasingly look beyond conventional residential amenities to embed healthcare, wellness and assisted living into communities.

"Nowadays, healthcare is important and critical for everyone. But primarily, once you're above 50 or above 60, the requirement for healthcare increases," Sheeshram Yadav, founder and managing director of Yugen Infra, told Fortune India.

Yadav clarified that Yugen is not entering the healthcare business directly but sees access to quality healthcare as an essential component of future township projects.

"Basically, we're into real estate. We're not directly involved in healthcare. Once you're building something like a township, you have to take care of every aspect of the residents. That's why we're bringing a best-in-class healthcare partner on board to take care of residents' healthcare needs," he said.

According to Yadav, the model goes beyond adding a clinic within a residential project.

"I think that is the requirement of the time. Such practices and experiences must be repeated because healthcare must become part of your township and part of your everyday life," he said.

The comments come weeks after Yugen partnered with healthcare platform LivLong to develop an integrated healthcare ecosystem at its Yugen Golf City project in Goa, leveraging healthcare services through Manipal Hospitals and other partners. The collaboration aims to integrate preventive healthcare, wellness, emergency response, rehabilitation and assisted living into the township.

Rising awareness reshaping healthcare demand

The broader healthcare ecosystem is already witnessing a shift in patient behaviour.

According to Antique Stock Broking, rising health awareness, lifestyle-related diseases, increasing urbanisation and expanding healthcare infrastructure are expected to drive sustained demand across hospitals, diagnostics and allied healthcare services. The report also notes that India's healthcare delivery market, currently valued at ₹6.3 lakh crore, is projected to reach ₹9.4-9.8 lakh crore by FY28 before expanding to ₹12 lakh crore by FY30.

Hospital operators say that change is already visible on the ground.

Speaking to Fortune India, Anjali Nautiyal, head of corporate business at Manipal Hospitals, said: "People are much more aware about preventive health check-ups today. Earlier, preventive health check-up numbers were very low. Now people understand the importance of early diagnosis and preventing diseases in the first stage itself."

She said patients have also become more accepting of technology-led treatment, particularly robotic-assisted surgeries.

"The entire control is in the hands of doctors. Robots make the analysis easier and help in quicker recovery," she said, adding that technology is complementing clinical expertise rather than replacing it.

Manipal is also seeing growing demand from international patients, for whom the hospital has dedicated support teams, insurance partnerships and digital appointment systems. Nautiyal also acknowledged that hospitals continue to face challenges in supporting patients once they leave the hospital.

"Outside the hospital, it becomes difficult to provide every service. We can provide emergency support through ambulances, but many other requirements need an ecosystem beyond the hospital," she said.

Beyond hospitals: The rise of healthcare ecosystems

The evolution of healthcare beyond hospital campuses is increasingly becoming an industry-wide theme.

Antique highlighted integrated healthcare delivery models as a structural positive for the sector and noted that leading hospital chains are expanding into home healthcare and diagnostics to engage patients beyond inpatient treatment.

For healthcare platform LivLong, that gap between hospital discharge and complete recovery represents one of the biggest opportunities.

"We are an aggregator connecting different healthcare providers with patients. We help people find the right provider for the right service at the optimum price and become a one-stop solution across preventive and reactive healthcare," founder and CEO Gaurav Dubey told Fortune India.

The company connects patients with hospitals, diagnostics providers, pharmacies, home-care services and insurance support while helping navigate treatment pathways.

According to Dubey, post-operative care is becoming an increasingly important part of the patient journey.

"Post-operative care is a very big area where we believe we can add value because cases become more complex after discharge. Clinical governance is not just about aggregation. Our doctors understand the case before routing patients to the appropriate provider," he said.

LivLong has also started supporting international patients with hospital selection, accommodation, visa assistance and recovery planning, although Dubey said overseas patients still account for a very small share of its business.

"We have started doing medical tourism. We help patients decide which hospital to go to, where to stay and how to navigate recovery after treatment. Hotels, resorts and Airbnb accommodation all become part of that ecosystem depending on the patient's needs," he said.

Looking ahead, Dubey believes home-based care will become one of India's biggest healthcare trends.

"We believe home care is a big opportunity. Healthcare today is largely linked to hospitalisation, but over the next five years patients will expect the same quality of care to be delivered at home at an affordable cost," he said.