Mumbai: India’s fertility care sector is entering a new phase—one driven not just by medical need, but by investment momentum. As couples increasingly delay parenthood, assisted reproductive technologies (ART) such as IVF are witnessing steady demand across urban and semi-urban India. Yet despite the growing need, the country still performs only a fraction of the IVF cycles seen in comparable global markets.
This widening demand–supply gap is turning fertility care into an attractive opportunity for investors. Private equity funds, hospital chains, and organised fertility networks are expanding rapidly, betting that demographic shifts, technology adoption, and rising awareness is transforming what was once a niche and socially sensitive medical service into a major healthcare growth sector.
Industry leaders Vinesh Gadhia, Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer, Ferty9 Fertility Center, Nitiz Murdia, Co-founder & Managing Director, Indira IVF Hospital Limited and Sudhaker Jadhav, COO – KIMS Fertility IVF Centre spoke at the 6th edition of ETHealthworld’s Fertility Conclave highlighted that the evolution of fertility care is no longer driven solely by medical innovation. Instead, investment decisions, infrastructure expansion, and regulatory frameworks are increasingly shaping the pace at which fertility services reach patients across the country.
Reflecting on the early days of IVF in India, Murdia noted that fertility treatment was once rarely spoken about publicly.
“When my father entered this field, IVF was still whispered about,” he said. “But over time it became clear that IVF is not just a treatment—it’s a demographic inevitability.”
According to him, the shift is being driven by structural social changes. Urbanisation, increased participation of women in the workforce, delayed marriages, and postponement of childbirth are creating what he described as a “timing mismatch between biology and lifestyle.”
Globally, nearly one in six couples experience infertility. While India is witnessing rising diagnosis and awareness, the penetration of fertility treatment remains relatively low compared to developed markets. “IVF is not a luxury service,” Murdia said. “It is time-sensitive healthcare.”
Despite increasing investments and commercial interest, industry leaders emphasised that fertility treatment remains deeply personal.
Gadhia pointed out that the fertility sector differs fundamentally from many other healthcare services because each successful treatment represents a life milestone for patients.
“Parenthood is a deeply emotional aspiration in India and part of the social fabric. That makes fertility care uniquely personal,” he said.
After decades in the industry, Gadhia believes that patient experience remains the foundation of sustainable growth. According to him, leadership in fertility care must be rooted in safeguarding the “soul of the service.”
“That means focusing on clinical outcomes, safety, ethics and transparency. Business metrics matter, but patient trust comes first,” he said.
As the sector becomes more organised and private-equity investments grow, maintaining this balance between financial performance and patient-centred care will become increasingly critical.
While fertility treatment is expanding rapidly, experts believe the industry still operates far below its potential capacity.
Jadhav, who transitioned into fertility services from a multi-speciality hospital background, said the biggest surprise was not the science but the emotional intensity of patients seeking treatment.
Unlike acute medical treatments, fertility care often involves months of engagement between doctors and patients, making emotional support a crucial part of the treatment journey. “In cardiology or oncology, patients come seeking treatment. But couples seeking fertility care come with hope,” he explained.
He also pointed to a significant gap between demand and supply. While India could potentially support between one million and 1.5 million IVF cycles annually, the country currently performs only around 300,000 to 350,000 cycles.
The reasons range from social stigma to misinformation about fertility treatments, both of which continue to limit patient access.
From an investor’s perspective, fertility care offers a distinctive healthcare model. Treatments often involve multiple cycles, patient engagement is high, and demand is expected to grow steadily over time.
However, operators caution that financial metrics alone cannot determine success in this sector.
“In investor meetings, we talk about cycle volumes, revenue per cycle, margins and EBITDA,” Gadhia explained. “But internally, the focus remains clinical outcomes, safety and patient experience.”
He noted that any growth strategy that neglects clinical excellence is unlikely to sustain itself in the long term.
The industry is currently navigating a phase where demand remains strong but capacity has expanded rapidly due to private equity interest. As a result, operators are increasingly focusing on differentiation through quality and patient trust.
Another unique feature of fertility care in India is that most treatments are paid out of pocket. Unlike many other healthcare services, insurance coverage for infertility treatments remains limited.
According to Jadhav, this cash-pay model makes investment decisions more complex.
“Patients are emotionally invested in the outcome, and providers must be extremely careful when investing in new technologies or infrastructure,” he said.
Success rates for IVF still average around 60–65 per cent, meaning a significant number of patients may not achieve pregnancy even after treatment. This makes transparency and expectation management critical for maintaining trust.
Experts believe that the next growth phase for fertility care will be driven by expansion beyond metropolitan cities.
While major fertility chains have traditionally focused on large urban centres, demand is now increasing rapidly in tier-2 and tier-3 cities where awareness and access are gradually improving.
“Demand is growing faster than access. We are not overbuilding capacity—we are still underestimating the demand,” Murdia noted.
In addition to traditional infertility treatments, emerging segments are expected to expand the market significantly in the coming years. These include social egg freezing, fertility preservation for cancer patients, and genetic screening technologies that help prevent inherited disorders.
Together, these developments could significantly broaden the scope of assisted reproductive technologies in India.
The implementation of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Act has also begun reshaping the sector by formalising standards for clinics, laboratories, and medical professionals.
According to industry leaders, regulation has strengthened quality control and increased investor confidence, although further improvements are needed in areas such as data transparency and gamete traceability.
At the same time, the industry is gradually shifting from standalone fertility clinics to organised platforms and networks.
Murdia believes the future will likely belong to structured fertility platforms only if they maintain the trust traditionally associated with doctor-led practices.
“The winning model will combine scale with credibility and standardisation with empathy,” he said.
