India’s greatest strength today is not only in her growing economy or expanding digital networks, but in the extraordinary potential of her people, especially her young. With over 65 per cent of our population under the age of 35, we are uniquely positioned to shape a future that is not just prosperous, but purposeful.
Health care offers one of the most powerful avenues to channel this potential. When a young person is trained to become a nurse, a technician, a community health worker, or an emergency responder, we do more than provide a livelihood. We create a pathway to service. We strengthen families and communities. We build resilience where it matters most.
At Apollo MedSkills, I have had the privilege of seeing this transformation up close. Young women and men from Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns, many entering the workforce for the first time, are now integral to hospitals, telehealth centres, and mobile medical units. Their confidence grows with every life they touch. Their dignity deepens with every responsibility they shoulder. This is the quiet revolution that health care skilling makes possible.
Imaging: Deni Lal
Globally, the demand for health care workers is rising sharply. India, with its youthful demographic and deep-rooted tradition of care, has the opportunity to emerge as a global hub—not just for medical value travel, but for talent.
Last month, I addressed a group of civil servants as part of a national webinar on governance and capacity-building. It was a timely and important conversation, because health care skilling cannot operate in isolation. It must be integrated into how we think about development, disaster response, digital inclusion and community empowerment. This is critical as every well-trained health worker becomes a bridge between policy and people. They ensure that care is not delayed, that help is not distant, and that dignity is not denied.
Women, in particular, form the backbone of India’s health care system. From ASHAs to senior nurses, they serve with resilience and grace. Yet, we must go further. We must equip more women to move beyond service delivery, say many more to lead primary care centres, health-tech enterprises, training institutions and health policy think tanks. A truly skilled nation is one where women are not just present, but empowered to lead.
When we talk about skilling our youth in health care, we are not simply referring to technical training. We are speaking of building a culture of empathy, ethics, and excellence. The health worker of tomorrow must be multi-skilled, digitally fluent, culturally aware, and deeply committed to care. They must be as confident with a device as they are with a patient’s worry, as attuned to new technologies as they are to timeless values.
This is the workforce that will shape not only the hospitals of tomorrow, but the heart of our public service. A workforce that heals, innovates, supports and leads. A workforce that reflects the best of India—compassionate, capable, and future-ready.
India is a nation that has always believed in service, in knowledge, and in compassion. By investing in health care skilling, we do not just shape careers, but create a workforce that is ready not just for jobs, but for responsibility. A definitive is that a healthier India begins with a skilled India. And a skilled India is one that builds not only hospitals, but hope!
Dr Preetha Reddy is Executive Vice Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited.