This Diwali, it will be raining projects from the diversified conglomerate Hinduja Group. The group plans to launch a bouquet of projects in healthcare, real estate and insurance sectors, its focus areas, between November 9 and 15 this year.

Group chairman Ashok Hinduja said they had mega plans for the healthcare sector and more specifically, the group’s plans for Tamil Nadu could fructify soon. It is already engaged in negotiations with some hospitals in the city, as part of its process to scout for tertiary hospitals in the state and tier II towns. The group, which already owns a 300-bed tertiary hospital in Mumbai, is aiming to create 5,000 beds across the country.

Stating that the formal announcements will happen around Diwali, he said, “There is also some vacant land and we have all the clearances ready. So, we are looking at something to start with immediately. We are looking at both greenfield and brownfield options. Entry into Tamil Nadu can happen in one week or even three months, depending on the negotiations,” he told ET on the sidelines of a press conference here on Monday.

This comes on the back of its tie-up with Limitless LLC, a global integrated real estate development arm of Dubai World, a Dubai-government owned entity. Under the joint venture, a spectrum of services, including medicare services and infrastructure in India and in places like Dubai, are covered.

“Limitless and ourselves have entered into a joint venture. In the 51:49 JV, we will have 51 stake. The project will not only have infrastructure related to hospitals but those related to real estate also,” Ashok Hinduja said, adding investments were not a problem at all.

Along with its partner, the group is setting up a chain of hospitals across the country. Initially, it will establish its presence in the metros before tapping the tier-II towns, he said.

“There is no dearth of money. The brand value for the hospital is there. Most important is the location, the type of doctors, the medical care because lot of market research has happened over the last few months. Problem is medical care. We want to see first how we go into the cities and then towns, on a hub and spoke model. We want to create 5,000 beds across the country. That is the target,” he said, not specifying the time frame.

The group is also looking for partners to get into life and non-life insurance segments. Ashok Hinduja was in Chennai, along with group president Gopichand P Hinduja, to formally announce the Ashok Leyland-Nissan Motor alliance. Source: economictimes