New Delhi: As India’s healthcare sector races toward a projected USD 596 billion valuation by 2025, a quiet but powerful shift is underway—Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles are emerging as the next big disruptor.
No longer just a corporate buzzword, ESG is now being seen as a critical framework to tackle inequities, attract impact-driven capital, and build a resilient, inclusive healthcare ecosystem.
Experts say ESG could be the game-changer India needs to move beyond piecemeal CSR initiatives and government subsidies—offering instead a data-backed, accountability-driven approach to bridging access gaps, especially in rural and underserved regions.
Despite its massive scale, healthcare accounts for just six per cent of the total market capitalisation of the top 1,000 NSE-listed firms—highlighting an urgent need for long-term, value-based transformation. With over 7.5 million workers across hospitals, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, medtech, and biotech, embedding ESG may not just boost investor trust—it could define India’s path to becoming a global healthcare leader by 2047.
India currently ranks 120 out of 156 countries on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index, reflecting an urgent need to adopt frameworks that move from short-term charity to measurable, long-term impact.
In a conversation with ETHealthworld, Amit Bhatia, Founder of Aspire Impact and Aspire Circle, emphasised the growing relevance of ESG in reshaping healthcare outcomes across the country.
“ESG enables us to move from charity to capitalism with conscience. It incentivises healthcare providers to address underserved populations through market-based mechanisms, improving both health outcomes and investment returns,” he said.
India’s healthcare landscape is marked by deep-rooted inequities, especially in rural and tier 2/3 cities, where critical gaps in infrastructure, affordability, and access remain. According to Bhatia, traditional philanthropy often lacks scale, sustainability, and accountability. ESG frameworks, by contrast, offer structured and quantifiable models backed by 150+ healthcare-specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
These KPIs track metrics viz patient safety and care quality, medical waste management, gender equity and workforce inclusion, affordability and last-mile access, digital health adoption and ethical governance and transparency
“Only 25 per cent of Indian companies disclose ESG metrics today. But those that do often enjoy 5 to 20 per cent higher valuation multiples, increased investor trust, and improved brand equity,” Bhatia noted.
Unlike one-off donations or government subsidies that risk creating dependency, ESG-driven investments aim to align profitability with purpose. Aspire Impact uses a Dual ESG Ratings & Rankings system that evaluates companies on both risk mitigation and impact potential, helping guide capital towards organisations making a measurable difference—particularly in low-access geographies.
Through its evaluation of over 1,000 companies, Aspire has helped develop sector-specific ESG roadmaps tailored to various industries. The healthcare ESG framework, launched in 2022, is designed to support providers operating in underserved regions, where demand for quality, inclusive care is rapidly growing.
Bhatia also highlighted how embedding ESG principles into public health initiatives—such as the Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission (ABDM)—can significantly enhance transparency, accountability, and scalability.
He further called for greater alignment between ESG disclosures and India’s regulatory mandates, including the Companies Act and SEBI’s ESG reporting requirements. This alignment, he noted, could catalyse widespread adoption of ESG frameworks across both public and private healthcare players.
“The future of healthcare is not just digital or data-driven, it must be value-driven. ESG allows us to quantify our intentions, measure our progress, and attract capital that’s both responsible and results-oriented,” Bhatia said.
With sustainability and accountability becoming top priorities for investors, ESG adoption in healthcare is no longer optional—it’s a strategic imperative. For India to bridge persistent gaps in equity, affordability, and access, ESG provides a clear and actionable pathway to achieving universal healthcare goals while reinforcing national resilience.
As India looks ahead to its centenary in 2047, embedding ESG principles into healthcare strategy could become a defining lever—reshaping not just institutions, but also the future of public health and social impact in the country.
