IPO-bound Paras Health plans 800-bed expansion, eyes growth in underserved North India

IPO bound Paras Health, the North India-focused hospital chain, plans to expand capacity in existing hospitals and increase footprint through new hospitals, and pursue acquisitions in its core northern markets as it prepares for a public listing, Managing Director Dr Dharminder Nagar told Business Today.

As of March 31, the group operated eight hospitals with about 2,211 beds and expects to add around 800 beds by March 31, 2028, including new facilities in Ludhiana and Gurugram, Nagar said. The company operates across Gurugram, Patna, Ranchi, Udaipur, Panchkula, Srinagar and Kanpur, focusing largely on underserved markets in North India.

The company converted into a public limited entity in July 2024. Institutional investors including Creador, 360 ONE and Axis AIF already hold stakes in the chain.

North India strategy

Paras Health’s strategy since its founding has been focussed on underserved markets, with large catchment populations where there is a need for high-quality tertiary and quaternary care, strong demand for healthcare services, as well as proximity to medical colleges to source medical professionals.

“The opportunity is still enormous in North India. Healthcare has to be delivered where people live. Patients should not have to travel hundreds of kilometers for treatment,” he said. The group has deliberately expanded into markets that large hospital chains initially avoided, including Patna, Ranchi, Udaipur, Darbhanga and Srinagar.

IPO proceeds and expansion

Proceeds from the planned IPO will primarily be used to reduce debt, Nagar said, which would strengthen the balance sheet and enable further expansion.

Private equity investor Creador, which invested in 2017, is expected to partially exit during the IPO. “I still own over 70% of the business,” Nagar said, adding that such investors have strengthened board oversight and operational discipline. Paras Health has also invested in digital systems and medical technology to improve efficiency while maintaining relatively affordable pricing.

“We don’t want to simply raise prices. We want to become more efficient. Technology will play a big role in that,” he said. Looking ahead, Nagar said the company expects revenue growth supported by rising healthcare demand and expansion in underserved regions. “We believe that the opportunity in North India alone is large enough to sustain expansion for decades,” he said.