India needs 2.9 mn more hospital beds, 2.6 bn sq ft of healthcare space by 2035: CBRE

New Delhi: India's healthcare real estate sector needs expansion as the country currently has 1.6 bed per 1000 persons which lags behind the global average of 3.3 bed per 1000 persons.

CBRE South Asia's report reveal India needs 2.9 million incremental hospital beds to match the global benchmark for healthcare infrastructure. Consequentially, the country has to widen the healthcare real estate by an additional 2.6 billion sq. ft. by 2035 which currently stands at 2.1 billion sq. ft.

"The requirement presents a significant opportunity for developers, investors and healthcare operators to create purpose-built and scalable healthcare assets across markets," the report said.

Healthcare investment is increasingly shifting towards specialised facilities, day-care formats and acquisition-led expansion. Southern states such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka have higher existing healthcare infrastructure relative to their non-communicable disease (NCD) burden.

Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand have low bed density relative to non‑communicable disease burdens, while Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana have stronger infrastructure and household incomes, supporting further expansion of specialised healthcare facilities and medical ecosystems.

“Healthcare is emerging as one of India’s most consequential real estate opportunities, not simply because demand for care is increasing, but because the country needs a far deeper and more distributed physical healthcare network,” said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and CEO, India, South-East Asia, Middle East and Africa, CBRE.

“Built-to-suit (BTS) structures can play an important role in addressing this requirement by providing operators with specialised, purpose-built clinical infrastructure aligned with their operational and regulatory needs," he said.

This would allow healthcare providers to direct more capital towards clinical services, medical equipment and technology, while offering property owners greater income visibility through long-term leases, he added.

Beyond conventional hospitals, the sector is also witnessing the growth of diagnostic centres, day-care surgery centres, wellness and preventive healthcare formats, including health screening centres, rehabilitation clinics, eye-care centres, IVF centres and vaccination facilities, particularly in urban locations.

Due to the highly competitive landscape in certain cities, operators are increasingly evaluating existing hospitals to enter established markets faster, leveraging operational infrastructure, licences and patient networks, the report noted.