New Delhi, Nov 14 : Union Commerce Minister Kamal Nath on Wednesday said that the healthcare revolution is waiting to happen in the country, and called for developing new infrastructure in the sector on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis.

"India is not short of funds with many global investors waiting to invest in the country. What is needed is a platform or a forum to streamline these investments, " Nath said, and urged the Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) to initiate an interface with the government to work out a PPP partnership model to fund healthcare infrastructure.

"During the 1990s, Indian healthcare grew at a compound annual rate of 16 per cent. Today the total value of the sector is more than 34 billion dollars. By 2012, India's healthcare sector is projected to grow to nearly 40 billion dollars, " he said.

Nath made these remarks while addressing the special plenary session on "Empowering India's Healthcare Infrastructure - Strategic Investment and Partnership, " organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) along with India Healthcare Foundation here on Wednesday.

The Commerce Minister outlined five areas for the government and organized industry action in the healthcare sector, that included creation of low-cost, high-quality facilities, with a focus on under-served areas; working towards creating standards for high-quality healthcare; investment in training and developing healthcare manpower; improving health insurance coverage; creation of PPP model in the sector. (ANI)