Hyderabad: Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday announced plans to develop a health city near the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, adding that the state is working with the Centre to create a green channel for international patients travelling to India for treatment.Speaking at the inauguration of Apollo Hospitals’ 400-bed facility in Hyderabad’s Financial District, he said limited direct air connectivity remains a hurdle for medical tourism and that the government intends to address it, though no timelines were specified.The CM was accompanied by health minister Damodar Rajanarsimha, who highlighted plans to expand ambulance services from 30 to 100 and set up 40 trauma care centres across Hyderabad, each within a 35-km radius. He added that non-communicable disease (NCD) clinics have been established in every district, offering medicines, diagnostics and specialist care. “A cancer registry has also been launched to track disease trends, alongside daycare centres across districts, including remote areas like Mulugu and Adilabad,” he said.Meanwhile, a Health of the Nation 2026 report by Apollo Hospitals flagged a rising NCD burden in Telangana. Over 25% of those screened in Hyderabad were diabetic, rising to nearly 29% in Warangal. More than 81% were overweight or obese, while over 27% had hypertension, figures that reinforce Telangana’s long-held reputation as India’s diabetes capital.NCDs hitting the young Apollo founder Prathap C Reddy warned that NCDs are increasingly affecting younger populations. “Two out of three young people already have one of the four major non-communicable diseases—heart disease, stroke, diabetes or cancer. They don’t know it and come to us too late,” he said. He attributed the trend to rapid urbanisation, sedentary lifestyles, high refined carbohydrate intake and low screening rates. On technology, he noted that AI could reduce heart attack diagnosis time from 60 minutes to 10, but stressed that “clinical judgement is crucial.”The new facility features AI-assisted systems, robotic surgery and an emergency response network with helpline 1066. It will also offer 10,000 free screenings for residents of Nanakramguda. Reddy said India would require at least 50,000 additional hospital beds to meet the growing NCD burden.
