Fortis Healthcare Ltd (FHL) is taking the cause of HIV to a larger platform. According to reports, HIV has infected 5.13 million in India at the end of 2004, making it the second-highest in the world after South Africa’s 5.3 million. “Rising numbers are a great concern and it has to be addressed in the right perspective,” says Harpal Singh, chairman, Fortis Healthcare Limited, a Ranbaxy promoted group.
FHL has started a programme to work with companies in increasing awareness amongst workers. It also plans to train all its doctors in HIV care in 12 months. “We are continuously working to bring down the cost of the HIV vaccine,” says Singh. He says that the development of a nation rests on the premise of how healthy the citizens are and their level of education. Health care services in India are emerging as the next big thing and companies like Ranbaxy, SRL Ranbaxy and FHL are going aggressive to take a share of the outsourcing market pie.
FHL at present has four operational multi-speciality hospitals with 650 beds and it plans to set up about 4,000 bed capacity by 2009. Out of that, 55% will be owned by FHL and the rest will be managed by it.
The company is also negotiating with leading hospitals in the UK to outsource their pathalogical and radiology tests. “It is a huge market and we have advantage in terms of quality and time,” says Singh.
“India is set to become a healthcare hub because of significant cost advantages. In the next two to seven years, there will be a very significant growth in what is known as medical tourism,” says Singh.
An alumnus of the Doon School, Singh pursued economics from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and later did BS in Economics and a Master’s in Public Affairs from the CSCH, California, USA.
Singh is a member of the Ranbaxy board and several of its board committees. He is the chairman and managing director of FHL, SRL Ranbaxy Ltd and chairman of Fortis Financial Services and Fortis Securities.
He has over 30 years experience in the corporate sector. Starting with the Tata Administrative Service, he has held senior positions in Telco and also at Shaw Wallace & Co Ltd and Hindustan Motors. He was also a senior advisor to Mahindra and Mahindra for corporate projects.
From time to time, Singh has been a member of several government committees and presently is a member of the Punjab chief minister’s Advisory Committee on Industrial Growth and Development of Relevant Infrastructure. He is an active participant of several CCI initiatives in the health sector.
Singh has been involved with many educational institutions at the board level which include the Doon School, Shriram School and the Scindia School (Gwalior).
