Themed ‘Healthcare 2030 – Drivers of Disruption: Management, Machines, or Markets’

19 July, 2025, Bengaluru: The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) organized its fifth annual flagship healthcare leadership summit, Ayusmat 2025, with the theme ‘Healthcare 2030: Drivers of Disruption: Management, Machines or Markets’, hosted by participants of the General Management Programme for Healthcare Executives (GMHE). The event featured a cross-section of stakeholders, including healthcare leaders and administrators, policymakers, technologists, startup entrepreneurs and scholars, who came together to discuss the seismic shifts transforming Indian healthcare and what the future holds.

The summit was inaugurated by Prof. Padmini Srinivasan, Finance & Accounting area; Prof. Ashok Thampy, Finance & Accounting area; Jawaid Akhtar, IAS, Ex–Additional Chief Secretary of Health and Family Welfare, GoK; Prof. U. Dinesh Kumar, Director In-Charge, IIMB; Dr. Amrut Kadam, Deputy Director, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences; Prof. Haritha Saranga, Production & Operations Management (POM) area, with an address by Prof. Gopal Mahapatra, Chairperson, OB&HRM area. He greeted the audience and laid the tone for an engaging day of discussion on healthcare disruption, leadership, and transformation. The GMHE programme, successfully operational for many years, is a special programme at IIMB designed for working professionals from various facets of the healthcare industry. It is led by Programme Directors Prof. Haritha Saranga and Prof. Ashok Thampy, who initiated the programme to fill the vital gap between healthcare delivery and management education.

The keynote address was delivered by Jawaid Akhtar, IAS, erstwhile Additional Chief Secretary of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka. From his vast administrative experience, Mr. Akhtar brought forth a holistic image of India's changing healthcare scenario in the post-pandemic period. He addressed the growing rate of digitalization, the increasing workforce and economic pressures, and the rise of patient-focused models of care. Highlighting the issues on the horizon, from long waits for patients to outmoded systems, increased costs, and gaps in workforce skill, he underscored that the future of healthcare in India depends upon its ability to manage its "trilemma": efficient management, sophisticated machines, and adaptive market models.

The trilemma was the central theme of the summit, with "Management, Machines, and Markets" developed not as separate forces but as interconnected drivers of healthcare transformation. Sessions examined how management, through good governance and responsible leadership, can guarantee fair systems and foster considered adoption of technology. Physicians and administrators were recognized as powerful influencers who need to assist in shaping clinical workflows, embed tech responsibly, and develop capacity.

Technologically, speakers underscored the transformative power of AI, robotics, and digital infrastructure in reshaping healthcare provision. A specific focus was on data security, telemedicine, EMRs, and predictive analytics. Markets are also emerging as potent drivers of change, with economic growth in India driving increased health awareness, higher health insurance penetration (now approaching 20%), and more investment in startups and public-private partnerships. With healthcare expenses growing by 12% every year and AI-fueled innovation picking up speed, the discussion moved to how India could scale solutions that are affordable and accessible.

A panel discussion moderated by Prof. Gopal Mahapatra during one of the conference's most interactive sessions was titled ‘Healthcare 2030: Who Will Lead the Change – Machines, Management, or Markets?’, which saw specialists Prof. Shuchi Sinha, IIT Delhi; Dr. Vaibhav Tiwari, Co-Founder & CEO, Portea; Dr Ravi Yadav Professor of Neurology and Deputy Medical Superintendent, NIMHANS; and Ganesh S., GM, Microsoft Discovery, discuss how these forces can come into conflict or collusion and drive a sustainable future.

This was succeeded by another panel with Prof. Padmini Srinivasan, Chairperson, Centre for Corporate Governance and Sustainability (CCGS), IIMB; Himesh Joshi, Co-Founder & CEO, AYU Health; Dr. Nagesh R. Director of Anesthesia & Critical Care, Kauvery Hospital - Electronic City; Harikrishnan Ramakrishnan, Founder & CEO, WeAssist, and P. Sunil Krishnan, Co-founder & CEO, Svantantra Integrative Neuro Rehab, discussing how healthcare leadership needs to change in the next decade.

Another important addition to this year's summit was an engaging panel on ‘Healthcare Financing for Tomorrow’, led by Prof. Padmini Srinivasan. The conversation highlighted the imperative to rethink financing mechanisms right across the healthcare ecosystem — from insurance affordability and capital for small hospitals to financing innovations for start-up health-tech ventures. Dr. Nagesh R. pointed out that even with government schemes, more than half the population of India is uninsured, and out-of-pocket spending becomes a top driver of financial distress. Harikrishnan Ramakrishnan briefed that in excess of ₹33,000 crore worth of claims were rejected last year, highlighting operational inefficiencies and the absence of digital documentation at smaller hospitals. P. Sunil Krishnan shared ways in which his organization is using underutilized public infrastructure and philanthropic capital to develop inclusive healthcare delivery models. Himesh Joshi provided insights on how asset-light models are contributing to lessening capital burdens for new hospitals.

The panel emphasized wider insurance coverage, empowerment, transparency, and policy innovations to develop an inclusive, financially sustainable healthcare architecture. A reflective workshop entitled ‘Are Hospitals Ready to Go Green?’ was conducted by Prof. Haritha Saranga, discussing the nexus between healthcare and climate action. Pointing out that the healthcare industry generates close to 5–6% of the world's emissions through the ongoing energy use, biomedical waste, and throwaway plastics, she urged prompt climate action in healthcare facilities.

Using graphics and data, she described how increasing care demand is leading to environmental degradation and why doing more with renewable resources, better waste management, and cutting back on unnecessary consumption can not only lower emissions but also improve public health. She advocated a system-wide strategy with enhanced patient education, primary prevention, and ethical clinical practice to reduce healthcare's ecological footprint and bring it in line with planetary boundaries. The summit also included a crucial panel on ‘AI in Healthcare: A Clinical Perspective’, with speakers including Dr. Chinnababu Sunkavalli, Senior Consultant Robotic surgical oncologist at Yashoda hospitals; Dr. Hemanth Naik, Chief Medical Officer, Svatantra Integrative Neuro Rehab & Virtual Autopsy Global Solutions, UK; Dr. S. Santosh Kumar Dora, CEO, Kalinga Hospitals Ltd.; and Ganesh Srinivasan, GM and Software Engineer at Microsoft Discovery.

The panel provided profound insights into the ways in which artificial intelligence is transforming clinical care from claims automation and workflows to predictive care and tailored treatment.

The panel concluded that, as AI is driving scientific discovery at an accelerating pace, its ultimate impact will rely on whether it is put to use ethically and inclusively in Bharat's healthcare systems.

Another highlight of Ayusmat 2025 was the SMartTANK IIMB startup showcase, where promising early-stage healthcare ventures pitched their ideas around AI diagnostics, accessibility, cost-reduction innovations, and green healthcare. The selected startups received mentorship and visibility among hospital CXOs, investors, and policy thinkers attending the summit. As the session came to an end, participants commented on the shared vision for Healthcare 2030. An active, not reactive, holistic, not fragmented, and inclusive, not exclusive system. All speakers were in agreement that Indian healthcare will be shaped in the future not by one force alone, but by the intersectional reality, where the management guarantees ethical form, machines deliver the tools, and markets deliver scale and sustainability. The GMHE programme and its graduates continue to showcase how multi-disciplinary management education can positively influence the future of healthcare in India.

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