‘Moving from potential to purpose’

India is increasingly being recognised as a global hub for healthcare innovation. What are the key factors driving this transformation and where do you see the country’s biggest opportunities over the next five years?

India’s MedTech sector is moving from potential to purpose, powered by policy support, local innovation and a growing focus on building technologies in India for India and the world. Today, the industry is valued at about $11 billion, with a long-term vision of capturing 10-12 per cent of the global medical devices market. At this juncture, three opportunities are seen ahead of us – moving beyond manufacturing to become a leader in design, advanced engineering, software, AI-enabled healthcare solutions, and R&D; leveraging digital technologies, such as AI, data analytics and connected care, to improve clinical outcomes and healthcare efficiency at scale; and strengthening component manufacturing and local supply chains, so that India captures a greater share of the MedTech value chain.

Access is an important part of the story. The next phase of growth will come from extending advanced healthcare technologies beyond major metropolitan centres into Tier II, III and underserved regions.

Achieving this will require strong public-private partnerships, investments in healthcare infrastructure, digital connectivity and a skilled workforce. There can be no Viksit Bharat without Viksit Health.

How are AI, digital tools and connected healthcare solutions transforming the deployment and use of medical technologies? What impact are they having on patient care and healthcare delivery?

The most crucial aspect of AI is embedding intelligence into everyday clinical and operational workflows, enabling better outcomes at scale, especially when we look at the scale of MedTech requirements in India. AI is playing a significant role in fundamentally transforming healthcare by making it more predictive, precise and accessible. The next big shift for India is how AI-powered imaging solutions are helping improve image quality, reduce scan times, support early detection of abnormalities and enhance diagnostic confidence.

Connected healthcare technologies are enabling seamless data flow across care settings, making healthcare more coordinated, efficient and patient-centric. For hospitals and providers, this translates into improved workflow efficiency, optimised equipment utilisation and greater productivity, ultimately allowing them to serve more patients without compromising quality of care.

Scaling these innovations beyond metropolitan centres into Tier II, III and rural India will require robust digital infrastructure, interoperable healthcare systems, skilled healthcare professionals and strong public-private partnerships. AI’s biggest impact will be in making quality healthcare more accessible, affordable and available to every citizen.

What are the biggest challenges in scaling access to advanced medical technologies across a diverse market like India?

India’s diversity is both its greatest opportunity and its greatest challenge when it comes to expanding access to advanced medical technologies. The healthcare needs of a large tertiary hospital in a metro are fundamentally different from those of a district hospital, a diagnostic centre in a Tier II city or a primary care facility serving rural communities. As a result, scaling access is not simply about deploying more technology, but ensuring that solutions are relevant, affordable, scalable and sustainable across diverse care settings.

One of the biggest barriers is infrastructure readiness. Advanced healthcare technologies depend on reliable power, digital connectivity, trained clinical talent and robust service support. In many parts of the country, these foundational elements still need strengthening. Another critical enabler is localisation. India has made significant strides in manufacturing finished medical devices, but the next phase of growth will come from strengthening local capabilities across the broader MedTech value chain, including design, engineering, software, R&D, component manufacturing and innovation. To accelerate this journey, there is a need for policy measures that incentivise long-term investments in indigenous technology development, supplier ecosystem creation, skill building and advanced manufacturing.

How is Wipro GE Healthcare leveraging its distribution footprint, engineering capabilities and customer-centric approach to expand access to quality healthcare across the country?

For over three decades, we have been investing in India’s healthcare ecosystem through a strong network of local manufacturing and innovation capabilities. Today, GE HealthCare’s footprint includes four manufacturing facilities – three in JV with Wipro and one with BEL – with more than 30 products made in India and exported to over 70 countries. A powerful example of this approach is Revolution Aspire CT 2, an advanced CT built to address the needs of high-volume and resource-diverse healthcare settings, combining advanced imaging capabilities with workflow efficiency, helping clinicians make faster and more confident diagnostic decisions.

Innovation is powered by the Healthcare Technology Centre India (HTCI), GE HealthCare’s largest R&D centre globally. HTCI brings together deep clinical understanding, engineering expertise, software capabilities and AI innovation to develop technologies that improve healthcare outcomes worldwide. It is home to advanced solutions like AIR Recon DL that use deep learning to significantly enhance MRI image quality, while reducing scan times, helping improve patient comfort and productivity. Another example is Sonic DL, which accelerates MRI acquisition, enabling faster scans without compromising image quality. These innovations help clinicians obtain clearer diagnostic information while allowing healthcare providers to serve more patients efficiently.

The reach of our MedTech solutions is enabled by 141 channel partners (sales and service), covering 700+ districts in India. About 65 per cent of our installed base operates through public-private partnership (PPP) models, enabling advanced diagnostic and imaging technologies to reach underserved communities.

Beyond deployment, we are also collaborating with leading institutions, such as AIIMS Delhi, through the AI Health Innovations Hub to co-develop AI-enabled solutions and workflow innovations in areas like cardiology, oncology, and neurology, reinforcing our commitment to building healthcare solutions that are both scalable and locally relevant.

By combining localised manufacturing, world-class engineering, strong public-private partnerships, strategic collaborations and an extensive distribution and service network, we are working towards a single goal – taking quality healthcare closer to the last citizen.

What role do partnerships with hospitals, healthcare providers, channel partners and other stakeholders play in expanding Wipro GE Healthcare’s reach and improving access to technology-enabled care?

Expanding healthcare access requires a collaborative ecosystem. At Wipro GE Healthcare, partnerships help us innovate, scale and reach more patients. Our channel partners are critical to this effort, especially across Tier II, III and emerging markets, providing local expertise, technical capabilities, clinical support and reliable lifecycle service.

Our channel partners are an extension of our organisation, covering ~80 per cent of India’s districts. Today, about 65 per cent of our installed base operates through PPP models, helping bring advanced diagnostic and imaging solutions closer to underserved communities and strengthening healthcare infrastructure where it is needed most.

We also collaborate with leading academic and research institutions to address some of the most pressing healthcare challenges. Strengthening our vision through AI, we have partnered with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, to establish an AI Health Innovations Hub, which will focus on the development of products and solutions that have the potential to enhance healthcare delivery and outcomes through more precise diagnosis, innovative treatment protocols, and real-time patient data tracking. As the technology partner, Wipro GE Healthcare will invest about $1 million over the next five years to co-develop, test and deploy intelligent systems and workflow solutions in cardiology, oncology, and neurology. We have also worked closely with several research and academic ecosystems to bring together engineering excellence, clinical insights and digital technologies to accelerate innovation in medtech and healthcare delivery.

As healthcare delivery becomes increasingly connected, how does Wipro GE Healthcare ensure that its distribution network goes beyond delivering technology to enable a seamless customer experience and long-term value for healthcare providers?

At Wipro GE Healthcare, delivering equipment is only the beginning of our relationship with a customer. Our responsibility extends across the technology lifecycle, from selecting the right solution and installation to training, service, upgrades and lifecycle management. Our customer experience strategy focuses on five priorities:

* One, lifecycle support through proactive service, remote diagnostics, predictive maintenance and responsive field support to maximise equipment uptime;

* Two, clinical enablement through continuous training and education, helping healthcare professionals realise the full potential of our technologies;

* Three, interoperability and connected care, enabling seamless integration with hospital systems and digital workflows to improve clinical and operational efficiency;

* Four, helping customers optimise productivity, equipment utilisation and patient throughput, while considering total lifecycle value, not just purchase price; and

* Five, strengthening co-ordination across direct teams, channel partners and digital platforms to provide greater visibility and faster resolution.

Looking ahead, what are the biggest opportunities for Wipro GE Healthcare’s distribution business in India? And what changes are needed across the broader healthcare ecosystem to accelerate growth and access?

India’s healthcare journey is entering a new phase. If the past decade focused on bringing advanced technologies into the country, the next must ensure these solutions reach more patients and healthcare providers across every geography. For Wipro GE Healthcare, the opportunity lies in strengthening distribution and service ecosystems, building deeper last-mile capabilities, local service networks and digital support to improve equipment uptime.

We also see significant potential in preventive care, early diagnosis, AI-enabled imaging and connected healthcare. Our focus is evolving from a product-led model to long-term partnerships across the technology lifecycle, from selection and deployment to training, service and upgrades.

Continued investments in infrastructure, domestic manufacturing, skilled talent, sustainable financing and public-private partnerships will be critical. If we get these fundamentals right, India has the opportunity not only to transform healthcare access at home, but also to become a global blueprint for affordable, scalable healthcare.