India has seen major infrastructural developments in the past decade, from highways and airports to urban transit systems, digital networks and health care institutions. Yet one essential layer has remained largely overlooked: Care for animals–the veterinary health care infrastructure. This gap is becoming increasingly visible as Indian cities evolve. Although awareness is growing, India continues to lag behind many Western nations and several developed Asian countries in recognising animals as an integral and equitable part of society.
India is home to an estimated 37.9 million companion animals, which is projected to reach 52 million by 2030. Overall, India’s pet population grew by 6.6% annually, from 28.4 million in 2020 to 39.2 million in 2025. The 2019 census recorded a total stray animal population of 203.31 lakh, including small animals and cattle, highlighting the scale of animal care needs across domestic and public contexts. Yet access to specialised veterinary infrastructure remains limited, with services concentrated in a few metropolitan centres.
As companion animals become increasingly integrated into urban households, demand for veterinary care is rising rapidly. While this has led to the emergence of smaller veterinary centres, their growth has largely outpaced the development of consistent design standards, regulatory frameworks, and quality benchmarks. Pet parents increasingly seek preventive health care, specialised diagnostics, emergency services, rehabilitation, and long-term clinical support. At the same time, municipalities continue to manage large stray animal populations through vaccination, sterilisation, and adoption programmes. The infrastructure supporting these needs remains fragmented. Across much of the country, specialised referral centres, emergency facilities, rehabilitation, and advanced diagnostics remain scarce, widening the gap between care expectations and the systems available.
Animals are deeply intertwined with our lives, and caring for them extends far beyond welfare. Strengthening veterinary infrastructure becomes integral to supporting public health, resilient communities, and a more humane society. An effective veterinary care ecosystem can contribute directly to disease surveillance, municipal services and public health. This aligns with the One Health framework, jointly promoted by WHO, WOAH, FAO, and UNEP, which asserts that the health of people, animals, and ecosystems is fundamentally interconnected.
Responding to this challenge requires more than increasing the number of veterinary facilities; it also calls for planning these spaces sensitively as part of a holistic system. India has an opportunity to build an integrated veterinary care network connecting regional referral hospitals, emergency centres, rehabilitation facilities, teaching institutions, and municipal veterinary services. Veterinary hospitals present a unique design challenge. Animals experience the built environment through sound, scent, proximity, and movement, all of which can heighten stress, influence behaviour, and shape recovery. Their environments must therefore accommodate behavioural zoning, species-specific planning, infection control and operational flexibility. A veterinary facility must balance clinical functionality with compassionate design to create an environment that supports high-quality medical care while addressing the unique operational challenges of veterinary practice in the Indian context. Thoughtful planning enables buildings to remain relevant while creating environments that support animals, veterinarians, caregivers, and the communities they serve. Alongside policy, investment, and health care expertise, the design of care centres becomes an important contributor to a more resilient veterinary care system.
India’s next phase of infrastructure development presents an opportunity to broaden how health care itself is understood. Recognising veterinary infrastructure as an essential part of national health care planning will strengthen animal welfare, support public health objectives, and improve the resilience of our cities. Infrastructure, however, must evolve alongside skilled human resources. Currently, there is an uneven distribution of veterinary care across states, with a national average of roughly one veterinarian per 6,558 animals. Strengthening veterinary education, training, and specialised workforce development through coordinated inter-ministerial policies is essential to creating a comprehensive ecosystem that supports both infrastructure and expertise, extending the focus beyond rural animal husbandry to the growing needs of urban India. As India builds the systems that will shape its future, veterinary health care must be treated not as a peripheral concern, but as a core pillar of a healthier and more humane nation.
(The views expressed are personal)
This article is authored by Ravi Sarangan, co-founder & director, Edifice Consultants.
