Indian Hospitals Boost Digital Spending by 25% Over Next Three Years

Indian hospitals are poised to increase their information technology (IT) innovation budgets by between 20% and 25% over the next three years. This forecast emerges from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)-EY HealthTech Survey 2025, which underscores a significant shift towards digital innovation within the healthcare sector. The report was unveiled during the CII Hospital Tech 2025 Summit and reveals that nearly half of healthcare providers are currently dedicating between 20% and 50% of their budgets to digital initiatives.

Transformative Impact of Automation

The survey highlights how automation is reshaping patient experiences, improving clinical outcomes, and enhancing data-driven decision-making processes. Titled “Unleashing Digital Momentum to Shape the Future of Healthcare—Enabling Automation to Enforce Transformation,” the report also identifies challenges that hospitals must address, including outdated legacy systems, workforce readiness, and a focus on patient-centric care.

Healthcare providers are strategically directing their spending towards areas that promise long-term benefits. Approximately six out of ten hospitals intend to invest in building IT capabilities. Conversely, hardware upgrades and essential application improvements rank lower on the priority list, accounting for only 10% of budget allocations. Medium-priority areas include data management and cybersecurity.

Artificial Intelligence as a Priority

The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) is gaining traction among healthcare providers, with a strong emphasis on enhancing the visibility of clinical data and deriving actionable insights to assist medical professionals. The survey indicates that the top priorities for AI investment include clinical documentation and data analysis (72%), decision support systems (64%), and imaging improvements (60%).

Joy Chakraborthy, Chairman of CII HospiTech 2025, emphasized the importance of collaboration among government, industry, and healthcare providers to fully harness the potential of HealthTech. He stated, “The next wave of healthcare delivery will be defined by how quickly we can bridge these gaps and enable hospitals to scale innovation without compromising patient trust or data security.”

Ankur Dhandharia, Partner—Healthcare at EY Parthenon India, elaborated on the survey’s findings, highlighting the current status, obstacles, and aspirations of India’s healthcare sector. He noted that leaders are implementing scalable systems and are now prioritizing digital investments to create a seamless patient journey and enhance health outcomes. “When it comes to AI and analytics adoption, there is a clear shift reflecting a move away from pilots to practical, scalable use cases that enhance efficiency and drive data-driven decision-making,” Dhandharia remarked.

Among other significant insights, the survey reveals that over half (60%) of healthcare service providers identify capability building and IT team upskilling as their most pressing digital challenge. This underscores an urgent need for a workforce that is more digitally fluent. Additionally, 50% of respondents pointed out challenges with integrating data and promoting the use of business intelligence (BI) tools. While hardware, network infrastructure, and data storage and management are considered moderately challenging, nearly 60% of respondents acknowledge ongoing struggles with data management.

The findings from the CII-EY HealthTech Survey 2025 provide critical insights into the evolving landscape of healthcare in India, emphasizing the importance of digital transformation in improving patient care and operational efficiency.