Manappuram Health Care Ltd, a venture of the Manappuram Group of companies, has forayed into the healthcare sector and plans to invest Rs 1,000 crore over the next five years to set up a chain of medical, dental clinics and diagnostics centres across South India.
MAcare
Mr V. P. Nandakumar, Chairman of the Manappuram Group, said the healthcare sector would be operated under the brand name MAcare, which will shortly open its state-of-the-art diagnostics laboratory in Kochi at an investment of Rs 20 crore. The Kochi Centre will be the third branch of the initiative. First two branches have already been opened in the coastal villages of Thrissur. The facility will have the latest 3 Tesla MRI scanner and will be the largest and most-sophisticated diagnostics laboratory in Kerala.
He said the group aims to set up a chain of 400 units of MAcare across South India and each centre would have three verticals — MAcare Medical Clinic, MAcare Dentral Clinic and MAcare Diagnostics. About 15 of these will be set up on a large format basis in the major cities, while the rural and semi-urban centres will be covered through a smaller format. The group's entry into the affordable healthcare business is aimed at making diagnosis and treatment affordable to a larger cross-section of society.
Even a casual analysis of the present healthcare system reveals a divide between the availability of quality healthcare services and its affordability. Quality healthcare comes at a price that puts it out of the reach of ordinary people.
The group is focused on creating a world-class Indian brand in the field of healthcare, grounded in the belief that people should have access to the best of healthcare services and facilities at the most affordable prices, he said. Referring to the retail jewellery business, he said the response from the market for the 12 showrooms set up in the past one year across Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu has been encouraging. The group has set a target to expand to over a 100 outlets by 2015 with a planned investment of Rs 3,000 crore.
As part of the CSR initiative, the group has also ventured into Women Empowerment and Food Security Programme to provide livelihood to disadvantaged women in coastal Thrissur by providing opportunities for self employment in areas like cultivation of fruits, vegetables, poultry and dairy farming .
In addition, Manappuram Foundation has also been active in Karur and Bangalore cities in providing scholarship to poor students and financial assistance to poor families