Healthcare in India is on the cusp of significant transformation, with its changing demographics, increasing consumer spending and rising lifestyle diseases driving the need to build better, accessible and inclusive healthcare infrastructure. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has repositioned the healthcare sector on the top of the government’s priority list.

Augmenting preventive primary healthcare, construction of medical colleges and digital health would continue to remain the top priority area post COVID-19. States as well as local bodies would take on a larger role in urban health^[5] by strengthening primary healthcare infrastructure and improving management systems for providing better affordability, accessibility and connectivity.

Going forward, infrastructure design would be undertaken from a multifunctional perspective that would enable it to function as an emergency response unit, whenever the requirement arises. Expanding health protection coverage, strengthening primary healthcare network and increased adoption of digital technologies would be key enablers for achieving the NIP vision for the healthcare sector.