India projected to need 2.6 billion sq. ft. of healthcare real estate by 2035

India is projected to require an additional 2.6 billion square feet of healthcare real estate by 2035, according to a report by CBRE South Asia. This expansion is driven by the need for approximately 2.9 million incremental hospital beds to align the country with global infrastructure benchmarks.

Currently, India maintains approximately 1.6 hospital beds per 1,000 people, which is significantly lower than the global average of 3.3. The report highlights regional disparities in infrastructure; states such as Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and Jharkhand show low bed density relative to disease burden. Conversely, southern states including Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana possess stronger existing infrastructure and higher incomes to support specialized medical expansion.

Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and CEO of CBRE for India, South-East Asia, Middle East, and Africa, noted that healthcare is becoming a consequential real estate opportunity due to the need for a deeper and more distributed physical network. The report suggests that built-to-suit structures could assist providers by offering specialized, purpose-built clinical infrastructure.