What are the Recent Employment Trends in Health Sector in India

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What are the Recent Employment Trends in Health Sector in India

What are the Recent Employment Trends in Health Sector in India
- Posted On 2024-12-10
Healthcare industry in India is growing fast and impressively, creating tons of new jobs. This growth has been fueled by factors such as the expansion of hospitals, the rise of tele-medicine, and more people seeking healthcare, including those from other countries coming for medical treatment. Inspite of such growth, there are still challenges, like shortage of healthcare workers especially in rural areas and the need for workers to learn new skills in the upcoming areas such as digital health and new medical technologies. There is a need for government, private companies and educational institutions to work together to train enough professionals in the healthcare domain to meet the demand and make sure people get the care they need. We have dedicated this article towards highlighting recent employment trends in the healthcare sector in India.

1. Healthcare Employment Growth Projections for 2024 and beyond

Driven by the continuous push for structural reforms by the Indian government coupled with technological adoption, and the country’s expanding healthcare needs, the health services industry is poised for a robust increase in employment. The CII or Confederation of Indian Industry has projected the sector to flourish at a 16-17% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) by 2025, thus potentially generating over 10 million new jobs during this time. Additionally, by 2030, India’s healthcare workforce is expected to exceed 5.8 million.

Present workforce: According to IBEF and other sources, the Indian healthcare sector had approximately 7.5 million people working in the industry as of 2024. This includes medical professionals, allied health staff, administrative staff, and healthcare support workers. Considering the massive growth in employment, healthcare is rapidly turning into one of the largest job providing markets in the country.

However, there are considerable gaps that still remain in the health industry workforce, despite the superlative growth shown. These gaps pertain to rural areas, specialized fields, and non-medical sectors. Shortages of medical professionals in rural areas are a persistent issue, affecting India's overall healthcare delivery system.

2. The Key Drivers of Healthcare Employment in India

a) Expansion of healthcare infrastructure

Government is investing in building and upgrading healthcare institutions to meet the country's ever-increasing healthcare requirements. Programs like Ayushman Bharat and NHM will extend health services to more rural and unreached regions, thus directly creating jobs in those regions. NHM, for example, has increased the induction of nurses, ASHAs as well as community workers.

The report by IBEF has highlighted the increasing construction of new private and government run hospitals. It has been expected that more than 25,000 new facilities will be built by 2030, thus significantly increasing employment opportunities in both clinical and non-clinical roles.

b) Rise of telemedicine and digital health

A consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic is that telemedicine now joins the bandwagon in India, changing the face and growth of the sector throughout 2024 and beyond. There are reports indicating that tele-medicine market in India is likely to reach USD 10 billion in the year 2025 due to increased demand for distant healthcare services.

New job roles: With the upcoming digital health platforms, there is a need for diverse workforce that includes telemedicine doctors, health IT specialists, digital health managers, and patient coordinators. Moreover, increased usage of AI-powered healthcare tools is further expanding employment in tech roles related to healthcare.

c) Government policies and public health initiatives

Healthcare policies framed by the government also plays a considerable part in defining the employment trends in the country's health sector. As already mentioned, the prime initiatives towards this direction have been Ayushman Bharat, National Health Policy 2017, and the National Medical Commission Act. These are helping to drive sectoral growth and foster job creation in underserved regions.

The aim behind Ayushman Bharat is to improve healthcare access for 50 crore people by offering financial protection and promoting digital health solutions, driving demand for professionals in insurance processing, claims management, and digital health platforms.

d) Medical tourism

India intends to be a medical tourism leader in the world with high-quality, affordable health care that attracts patients across borders. The country is to rank 10th in the Medical Tourism Index in 2024 and is likely to reach USD 9 billion by year-end. This growth is seen with the increasing demand for special medical professionals, coordinators, and administrative staff who have to manage international patients being treated in India.

3. Key Areas of Employment Growth

The health sector in India is expanding with immense growth in many key aspects, providing fresh employment opportunities:
- Healthcare management: The complex health care delivery system has increased the need for more administrators, hospital managers, and medical directors to provide operational efficiency. The healthcare management programs at institutions like TISS and IIHM are gradually witnessing increased enrollment levels.
- Auxiliary health services: There is an acute shortage of professionals in the allied health domain like nurses and medical lab technologists. The country will experience a deficiency of approximately - 1.5 million professionals in the nursing domain and by 2030; this number will increase further by 1.9 million. Demand for lab technicians and physiotherapists are also increasing.
- Cognitive health: Growing consciousness of mental health is making an increasing number of psychologists, psychiatrists, and counselors sought after and with that come new and fresh career opportunities in the area of mental health care.
- The sector of pharma and biotech: The Indian pharmaceutical sector, by 2030, shall reach US dollars 130 billion, creating many opportunities for drug manufacturing, research, and development, thus increasing the demand for professionals.
4. Obstacles in Healthcare Sector

The health sector faces challenges such as an acute shortage of workforce in rural areas, where only 30% of doctors and 50% of nurses work in rural areas despite 1.1 lakh health centers. The government programs like NRHM and PMSSY are providing incentives and scholarships for this purpose. The speed of technological advancement in health care due to AI, robotic surgery, and telemedicine has also created a skill gap. Institutions such as AIIMS, NSDC, and private players invest in skill development programs for professionals equipped to manage modern healthcare technologies.

Concluding thoughts

India's healthcare sector is growing rapidly, providing millions of jobs through expanding infrastructure, digital health, and medical tourism. The collaboration of government, private sector, and educational institutions is necessary to resolve workforce challenges.