"Unlocking Growth Requires Smoother Approvals and a Favorable Investment Climate": Abhay Soi

Time of India

01-05-2025

New Delhi: Multi-specialty hospital chain
Max Healthcare
and its Chairman and Managing Director,
Abhay Soi
, have urged the government to provide stronger policy support to help the
private healthcare sector
scale up and meet the country's growing medical needs.
In a recent interaction with ETHealthworld's Prathiba Raju, Soi outlined both the challenges and opportunities in the current ecosystem, calling for
regulatory reforms
that can unlock capacity expansion and enable more inclusive healthcare delivery.
Soi emphasised the need for enabling regulations, viable insurance pricing, and streamlined approvals to fuel private sector growth. He also highlighted key structural challenges faced by hospitals, especially in metro cities where land and real estate constraints hamper expansion.
'Why should there be a 45-meter height restriction for hospitals when residential and commercial buildings face no such cap?' Soi asked, pointing out how outdated zoning norms restrict vertical growth and unnecessarily inflate project costs.
Beyond urban planning hurdles, Soi said the sector is bogged down by excessive red tape.
'We operate under 200 licenses per hospital,' he noted, urging the government to introduce self-certification mechanisms for established hospital chains, similar to those used in other industries.
He added that this administrative overload not only delays the commissioning of new hospitals but also increases compliance costs, ultimately impacting affordability for patients.
'India's ambition to become a global healthcare destination and achieve universal health coverage cannot be realized without the active participation of private providers. For that to happen, the government must address regulatory bottlenecks, revisit scheme pricing, and create a more enabling environment for healthcare entrepreneurs,' Soi said.
'We are ready to expand, invest, and serve—but we need the policy ecosystem to partner with us," he added.
Soi reaffirmed Max Healthcare's commitment to participate in public health schemes like
Ayushman Bharat
, but raised concerns about the current pricing model.
'The intent is noble, but we need pricing that reflects the cost of care. Reverse-engineering the model will take time. Unless we build capacity and align costs, it's hard to participate in a meaningful way,' he explained.
He reiterated that misaligned pricing discourages larger private players from full-scale participation, potentially limiting the impact of one of India's most ambitious healthcare initiatives.
Despite these challenges, Max Healthcare remains on a high-growth trajectory. The hospital chain plans to add over 3,500 beds by FY28 through brownfield expansion, with additional growth expected via acquisitions and Operation & Maintenance (O&M) partnerships.
'We expand only in geographies where we see proven success. We need at least two other major players to be doing well in a region before we enter. Our internal benchmark is a 20–25 per cent return on capital. Yet, unlocking these growth targets requires smoother regulatory approvals and a more favorable investment climate—both of which can be shaped through better government collaboration,' Soi added.
The Multi-speciality Hospital-chain is expanding its foothold with a 300-bed super speciality hospital at Dwarka. The hospital chain is also in the broader expansion plan to add 3700 beds across key locations in India by 2028.
Apart from Dwarka facility Max Healthcare plans to inaugurate three other hospitals in Mohali, Mumbai and Saket, New Delhi later this year.
Addressing the affordability of Max hospitals, Soi said, 'Even as a premium healthcare provider, Max has taken steps to serve a broader cross-section of society. In every 500-bed hospital, around 50 beds are reserved for economically weaker sections (EWS), while 20 per cent are earmarked as multi-sharing wards for middle-income families.'
'Affordability is a function of perception. For one person, a ₹2 lakh bill is reasonable; for another, it's out of reach. Our goal is to accommodate both. But the ability to widen access depends on sustainable operations—and that hinges significantly on regulatory and policy support,' he concluded.