Market Size The hospital services market represents one of the most lucrative segments of the Indian healthcare

industry. On the back of continuously rising demand, the hospital services industry is expected to be worth US$ 81.2 billion by 2015. The hospital and diagnostic centre in India has attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) worth US$ 1.34 billion, while drugs & pharmaceutical and medical & surgical appliances industry registered FDI worth US$ 9.19 billion and US$ 521.45 million, respectively during April 2000 to March 2012, according to the data provided by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). The Indian pharmaceutical market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.3 per cent during 2011-12 to 2013-14, as per a Barclays Capital Equity Research report on India Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals. Trends and Investments

India and the US have signed an agreement on collaboration in diabetes Research. The collaboration aims to initiate a health research relationship between the two countries to generate a better understanding of the molecular and biological mechanisms underlying diabetes. This is the eighth agreement between the two countries in the field of health and medicine

Growth of Indian pharma companies will be driven by the fastest growing molecules in the diabetes, skincare and eye care segment, as per a report by research firm, Credit Suisse. The market share of a drug company is directly related to the number of fast growing molecules in the company's pipeline, said the report

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd will buy out partner Imperial Hospital's stake in a Bengaluru-based hospital-cum-research facility for around Rs 100 crore (US$ 17.86 million). "We have entered into an agreement to buy 100 per cent stakes of the Bengaluru facility, in which we earlier had 51 per cent," according to Suneeta Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo

Hyderabad-based company Dr Reddy's Laboratories has launched over-the-counter Lansoprazole capsules in the US. The tablet is the bioequivalent version of Novartis Consumer Health's Prevacid 24 HR capsule

Philips plans to develop healthcare products for rural India-a shift away from its exportsled strategy of the previous years. Going forward, the quantum of products developed for the Indian markets will go up "exponentially" and the team "will churn out more products for rural India," as per Srinivas Prasad, Head of Healthcare at Philips Innovation Centre. The firm is addressing a US$ 5 billion market for healthcare products in India

Onco Therapies, a subsidiary of Strides Arcolab, has received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for anti-cancer Cisplatin injection. The US market for generic Cisplatin is about US$ 10 million, according to IMS data

The Bengaluru-based Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospitals , which currently has 14 hospitals with 6,000 beds across seven States, plans to invest Rs 5,000 crore (US$ 892.86 million) on setting up a chain of 100 low-cost specialty hospitals and at least three more health cities in the country

Apollo Hospitals Group will invest Rs 1,500 crore (US$ 267.86 million) on increasing the number of its beds to nearly 11,500 by March 2014, according to Dr Prathap Reddy, Founder-Chairman of the hospital chain. The healthcare group had added 800 beds in 2011 in its existing 56 hospitals, which now have 9,000 beds, said Reddy

Abbott Laboratories plans to establish its research and development (R&D) centre in India in collaboration with Syngene, a contract research subsidiary of Biocon Ltd, to develop nutrition products in India. The Indian nutrition market is estimated to be about Rs 1,500 crore (US$ 267.86 million), according to an estimate by Motilal Oswal

MSD plans to set up a laboratory for developing vaccines with an investment of Rs 750 crore (US$ 133.93 million). The lab is set to come up at Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia University campus and will focus on developing vaccines pertaining to various diseases prevalent in tropical countries

Piramal Healthcare Ltd (PHL) has announced an agreement to acquire worldwide rights to the molecular imaging research and development (R&D) portfolio of Bayer Pharma AG. PHL's newly created subsidiary, Piramal Imaging SA, acquired the portfolio, including rights to florbetaben, a positron emission tomography (PET) trace

With vast amount of medical data generated each year, many healthcare small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India are opting for cloud technology to store, access and share data, to reduce operational costs and increase efficiency. e-health is a part of Visakhapatnam-based SevenHills Healthcare Pvt Ltd, a web-enabled hospital management solution (HMS) that provides end-to-end solutions to medical players, where doctors and staff can access the stored data from anywhere through the web

Business environment The healthcare environment today faces challenges that it has never seen before. The industry is under attack from every possible direction from cost containment, HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act) compliance, lack of stability, to an uncertain future. After trying various managed care techniques and concepts the onus to contain costs is now on the healthcare consumer.

Concepts such as defined contribution mutated into various consumer driven health plans are being touted as the nirvana pill for an aching industry. Medical and disease management is expected to play a key role for payors as they try to manage healthcare delivery. While executives are trying to grope for answers in an ever changing environment, the light at the end of the tunnel seems far away and a dim one at that. Regardless of the concepts that will or will not be around three years from now, one thing is certain, the degree of COMPLEXITY is increasing by the day.

A new study by the Gartner Group revealed that more than 50% of surveyed health insurers fully or partially outsource some of their IT/back-office business processes. This is up from 15% just a few years back. Given the rate of change and the new challenges faced by the industry, the role of outsourcing within the healthcare value chain, is being further enhanced. A recent driver for outsourcing has also been HIPAA compliance. Many payor organizations and other covered entities have taken this opportunity to outsource some of their IT/business processes and have the vendor meet compliance requirements. As organizations move towards a strategy that focuses their effort on those aspects of its business model that are core to its strategy, they are increasingly finding that they cannot be bothered with the day-to-day issues that arise from non-core business functions.

This rationale has been the main driver for growth of ASP (Application service provider) & BPO services. The common question asked by all managers today is, What is our core competency and does that match with our internal operations? Business functions that do not align with this objective are being subjected to scrutiny to determine operational impact and value addition. Outsourcing results in middle management having only oversight responsibilities and thus freeing up most of its time for strategic planning and execution.

GROSS DOMESTIC PROFIT(GDP)

Expenses incurred by the Indian Government on health care is the highest amongst developing countries. India's expenses on health care sector comprises 5.25% of the GDP. Chances are that the health care market could experience a hike and attain a figure ranging between $53 to $73 billion five years from now. This in turn will reflect an increase in the gross domestic product to 6.2% GDP. The health care industry in India earns revenues accounting for 5.2% of gross domestic product.

Employment opportunities are provided to as many as 4 million people in the health care segment or other related sectors catering to the health care industry in India in some way or the other. Owing to the vast differences in medical expenses in western countries and that of India, India has become one of the favorites for health care treatments. Due to the progressive nature of the health care sector in India, several foreign companies are intending to invest in the country.

Board of directors

P Pradeep Pradeep has been associated with Aavishkaar since its inception in early 2002 and brings with him over 12 years of operational and investment experience in sectors including farming and allied activities, agro processing, renewable energy, manure and fertilizers, Information and Communications Technology. Earlier, Pradeep worked for a period of 6 years with Rajshree Sugars & Chemicals Ltd, an integrated sugar complex engaged in the production of sugar, molasses, alcohol, manure and cogeneration of power. There he had been closely involved in the financial structuring for two new Greenfield sugar projects, valuation and takeover procedures of co-operative sugar factories as well as played the role of point person in discussions with overseas venture capitalists for a USD 30 million refined sugar project in Vietnam. Pradeep started his career at Apple Credit Corp Ltd, focused on hirepurchase and leasing of automobiles. He holds a MBA (Finance) from TAPMI, Manipal and is a Bachelor in Applied Sciences (Engineering) from PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore. Bharati Jacob Graduate of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania Has an extensive network within financial, venture capital and technology community in India and the Silicon Valley. Strong grounding in US, India investments, capital markets

16 years experience Strong base in Bangalore Investment Principal at Infinity Venture Fund I. Senior most at the fund, part of start up team that established it Senior most operating officer (non-investor) of the Fund-Head, Lazard India, earlier analyst with NWA, TNS-Mode Jean-Philippe de Schrevel As the founder and CEO of Bamboo Finance, Jean-Philippe provides leadership and vision. Previously, he co-founded BlueOrchard Finance in 2001 and has since remained a part of its management team. He joined Dexia Asset Management in 2000 as the Dexia Micro-Credit Fund Manager. Prior to that, he was Junior team economist in Romania for a EU PHARE technical assistance program, Field Consultant in Microfinance for a Belgian NGO, an Associate with McKinsey & Co, the Operations Director of a private Microfinance Foundation in Argentina, and finally a Consultant for the UNCTAD Microfinance Unit in Geneva. Jean-Philippe is fluent in French, Spanish and English. He holds a MA in Economics from Universit Notre-dame de la Paix in Namur, Belgium, and a MBA from the Wharton School of Business. Eric Berkowitz As a founding member of the team, Eric Berkowitz is developing the portfolio strategy for Bamboo Finance's clients. Eric has over thirteen years of international business and social entrepreneurship experience in twelve countries. Prior to joining Bamboo Finance, he was a Fellow with the Acumen Fund in China focused on developing social enterprises which increase healthcare access. This included working with Broadreach Healthcare to set-up a chain of retail based primary care health clinics and with Scojo Foundation to sell affordable reading glasses in rural areas. Previously he consulted on projects in Asia and the US in the areas of microfinance, financial services and business development. In microfinance his experience includes assisting a multinational bank to invest in the MF sectors of Indonesia and Pakistan, and developing a strategic business plan for SEWA Bharat in India. In addition, he served as a director of the China office of Tractus-Asia, where he assisted foreign companies making investment decisions and setting up operations in East Asia, was a consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and an

engineer at Cummins Engine Company. Eric holds a BS in Mechanical and Aerospace engineering from Princeton University and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business.