Private equity fuels India’s shift from hospital-led care to holistic wellness

India’s healthcare sector is witnessing a structural transition as private equity (PE) capital moves beyond traditional medical infrastructure and into new-age wellness models. Over the past two years, PE deals in healthcare have surged nearly 60%, driven by scalable formats that combine profitability with purpose.

What began as investment activity centred around primary care, pharmaceuticals and multi-speciality hospitals has now expanded into specialty clinics, diagnostics networks, secondary care centres and traditional therapies. The next wave, however, is being defined by the shift from curing to caring — a space that blends preventive health, lifestyle management and holistic wellbeing.

Entrepreneur Faizal Kottikolon, Founder and Chairman of KEF Holdings and the man behind Calicut’s Meitra Hospital, is among those leading this transition. His newest venture, Tulah, marks a decisive foray into evidence-led clinical wellness — an area he believes will dominate the future of healthcare delivery.

“When I started, I knew this model has to go, not just remain in Calicut. It should go throughout the country,” Kottikolon told CNBC-TV18, explaining why external capital plays a crucial role in scaling healthcare networks. “I didn’t want to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to build this model into other cities. That is where I appreciate foreign money coming in, or money within India itself, into the healthcare sector. India has among the least number of beds per capita, so the country needs hundreds of hospitals.”

For Kottikolon, wellness is the next logical extension. “In 2022, I put a team together to see how we can move from illness to wellness,” he said. “It’s a $7 trillion global market opportunity. It’s growing at a rapid pace, but wellness is still in a nascent stage. There are a lot of resorts and retreats in the superficial stage. What we are doing is very deep wellness. It’s called clinical wellness. Everything is evidence-based.”

This emerging wave attempts to modernise Ayurveda, yoga and other traditional Indian practices by pairing them with diagnostics, scientific validation and measurable outcomes. Yet the model comes at a premium, raising questions about whether clinical wellness will remain a high-end investor playground or evolve into a mass-market offering.Read about our editorial guidelines and ethics policy