This volume grew out of an experiment at the Wharton School's MBA program: to have Wharton faculty teach global modular courses (GMCs) to Wharton students on specific topics all around the world. The idea of the GMCs is to provide students with a unique combination of local immersion, course concepts, and understanding of emerging business issues. The topics and locations of these courses are chosen to give students first-hand exposure to business challenges and opportunities in regions undergoing rapid change – for example, energy and infrastructure in Brazil, global supply chain management in China, and marketing in emerging economies such as India and China.

The first such course offered was HCMG 890, “Innovation in the Indian Healthcare Industry.” Wharton faculty and students developed the content for the course in collaboration with industry experts from across India. Their collective effort is presented here. This volume seeks to describe the current state of India's healthcare system ranging from the parties that pay for healthcare (individuals who pay out of pocket, insurance companies, community insurance schemes, government ministries), the parties that provide healthcare (hospitals, physicians, and diagnostic laboratories), and the parties that produce the products used in healthcare delivery (pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and medical devices). The volume also includes discussion of innovative efforts to raise capital for the development of these sectors (e.g., private equity and venture capital), to deliver care to those at the “bottom of the pyramid,” to balance the population's ability to pay with their desire for access to modern care and technology, and to deliver care to foreign tourists.