Times Now Hospital Survey 2026 – National Group Ranking

The Times Now Hospital Survey 2026, conducted between May and September 2026 in partnership with Research & Insights, released its first set of results on 12 October 2026. The survey evaluated private hospital groups as integrated networks rather than individual campuses. Eligibility required a minimum of five operational branches; government‑funded, charitable and not‑for‑profit hospitals were excluded. Methodology combined desk research, more than 1,500 interviews with doctors and medical specialists, over 2,000 interviews with patients and caregivers, and fact‑sheets sent to more than 1,950 hospitals and clinics. Rankings reflect a composite score that blends expert and patient perceptions with factual data on clinical quality, infrastructure, human resources, accreditation, patient safety, and academic‑research capability. Where the statistical gap between entities was minimal, the same rank was assigned, resulting in a joint third place.

Top Ranked Hospital Groups

Apollo Hospitals secured the first position. The group, which opened India’s first corporate hospital in 1983, now operates a broad ecosystem comprising hospitals, pharmacies, diagnostics and primary‑care clinics. Apollo reports more than 10,000 beds and a pharmacy network of over 4,000 outlets, illustrating the shift from isolated institutions to interconnected private‑healthcare networks.

Fortis Healthcare ranked second. Fortis states it runs 36 healthcare facilities across 12 states, delivering more than 6,000 operational beds. Its portfolio includes hospitals, diagnostic centres and day‑care specialty facilities, with a stated mission centred on clinical excellence and patient care.

Manipal Hospitals and Paras Health share the third position.

  • Manipal Hospitals traces its origins to the founding of Kasturba Medical College in 1953 and opened its first hospital in Bengaluru in 1991. The group now operates 49 hospitals in more than 24 cities, offering over 12,600 beds, and is expanding its presence in both metropolitan and tier‑II locations.
  • Paras Health’s joint third place highlights a different growth model focused on non‑metropolitan markets. The network comprises eight hospitals located in Gurugram and Panchkula (Haryana), Patna and Darbhanga (Bihar), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Udaipur (Rajasthan), Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir), covering five states and one Union Territory. According to its website, Paras Health has 20 years of experience, has treated more than 2.1 million patients, and employs a team of over 2,100 doctors and nurses. Its clinical services span cardiac sciences, oncology, neurosciences, gastro‑sciences, orthopaedics, renal sciences, liver transplant and GI surgery.

Significance of Expanding Multispecialty Care Beyond Metros

The ranking underscores the challenge of delivering advanced multispecialty services outside major metropolitan hubs. Building such capacity requires attracting experienced clinicians, establishing multidisciplinary teams, investing in specialised equipment, and maintaining robust quality and patient‑safety systems—requirements that are harder to meet in Tier‑II and Tier‑III markets where talent pools and referral networks differ. For patients, local availability of these services can reduce the need to travel to metros for consultations, diagnostics and treatment. Paras Health’s presence in cities such as Patna, Darbhanga, Ranchi, Kanpur, Udaipur and Srinagar exemplifies an emphasis on extending advanced care to underserved regions, while Manipal’s spread across metro and tier‑II markets shows established chains broadening their reach.

Outlook

The Times Now survey will continue to release detailed campus‑level, specialty, zonal and city‑level results in stages, providing further insight into individual hospitals and regional healthcare markets. The current national group ranking places Apollo Hospitals, Fortis Healthcare, Manipal Hospitals and Paras Health at the forefront of the organised multispecialty healthcare conversation in India.