Reliance Enters Hospitals, Plans Healthcare Thrust

Reliance Industries, the Rs 8,730-crore textiles-to-petrochemicals major, is planning a foray into life sciences and healthcare as part of its gameplan to become a major player in managing hospitals and, subsequently, basic research centres.

RIL is taking an active interest in the Maharashtra governments proposal to build a 300-bed hospital within the GT hospital complex in Mumbai. The company has already joined hands with the charitable trust of Harikisondas Hospital at Prathana Samaj in Mumbai. Although the company has termed the move part of its philanthropic activities, industry sources say Reliances ambitions are much larger.

Besides managing hospitals, Reliance has a long-term plan of increasing its presence in the life sciences industry by offering financial aid to research institutes and colleges. The company may also acquire institutions for basic research.

 

Sources said Reliance also plans to utilise its business acumen to help various institutions engaged in basic research. For this, the company will make use of its acquisition fund, said the sources. There are no immediate plans of entering the pharma business. This is the companys first major foray outside its core areas of textiles, petrochemicals and infrastructure.

Industry sources said Reliance has entered into an agreement, through the Dhirubhai Ambani Foundation, with the Harikisondas Hospital trust to pump in Rs 70 crore over five years.

Under the agreement, the foundation will hone the professional skills of the existing hospital employees, besides completing a new building in the 2.85 lakh sq feet hospital complex. The new building will raise the hospitals capacity from 330 beds to 550 beds.

Reliances primary aim is to turn around the working of the Harikisondas Hospital. This will be a kind of stepping-stone for operations in life sciences and healthcare, said sources. The company is also planning to bid for the 300-bed private hospital proposed by the state government within the GT complex. Reliance is waiting for the tender which is being reworked by the Maharashtra government, sources added. When contacted, a Reliance spokesperson said, There was no bid as yet for GT Hospital. However, he refused to divulge any details.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government is planning to rope in a consultant to work on the tender document for GT Hospital. Earlier, the state government had to withdraw its first tender after Reliance pointed out that certain clauses made the project unviable. This forced the government to withdraw the tender and work on a new one. Of the six corporates which evinced interest in this proposal, only RIL bought the first document during the first tender, sources said.

The new building within the GT Hospital premises will not only have 300 beds for patients but also house doctors and nurses on the 2.80 lakh sq feet area. The entire project is estimated to cost Rs 100 crore. Reliance has already set up a hospital in Patalganga near its petrochemicals complex. It is also planning similar ventures in its proposed township at Jamnagar and Hazira in Gujarat.

RIL has also taken over the management of Sankara Nethralaya, a well-known eye hospital in Chennai. It plans to pump in Rs 10 crore and two of its nominees, Shyam Kothari of the Kothari group and former RBI governor S Venkitaramanan have already joined the board.