India Magnetic Resonance Imaging Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends And Forecast (2025 - 2030)

India Magnetic Resonance Imaging Market Trends and Insights

Rising NCD Burden Accelerates Diagnostic Imaging Demand

India’s escalating NCD prevalence raises the clinical urgency for high-resolution soft-tissue imaging. Cancer incidence is expected to climb from 529.40 per 100,000 in 2022 to 549.17 per 100,000 by 2031, underpinning structural demand for MRI-based oncology diagnostics. Stroke, epilepsy, and neuro-degenerative conditions also continue to rise, so neurologists increasingly prescribe MRI scans for finer lesion mapping, boosting daily scanner utilization, particularly in secondary cities where care gaps remain acute. Government screening programs for breast and cervical cancer routinely direct patients toward MRI for confirmatory scans, embedding the modality into standard care pathways. Health-insurance payouts under Ayushman Bharat further raise affordability for low-income households, sustaining patient-volume growth in the India MRI market. Consequently, providers view MRI capacity expansion as a prerequisite for clinical relevance as disease patterns evolve.

Expansion of Private Diagnostic-Center Chains & Medical Tourism

Organized diagnostic networks such as Dr. Lal PathLabs, Neuberg, and Metropolis collectively operate over 1,500 imaging hubs, and the number could double by 2028 as asset-light franchise models reduce capital intensity. These groups channel fresh scanner installations into smaller cities where competition is limited, thus diffusing India MRI market penetration beyond metro clusters. In parallel, medical-tourism arrivals rose to 463,725 visas in 2024 as foreign patients sought cost-advantaged cancer, spine, and cardiac care bundled with MRI diagnostics.^{[1]Nushaiba Iqbal, “How India is turning into a popular medical-tourism hub,” indiaspend.com} Hospitals in Delhi, Chennai, and Kochi advertise fixed-price oncology packages that include pre- and post-surgical 3 T MRI scans, reinforcing MRI as a revenue anchor. Such inbound traffic incentivizes providers to install premium-spec systems with AI-accelerated throughput to maintain service levels. The dual tailwind of domestic and foreign demand keeps scanner-purchase pipelines healthy for OEMs and local assemblers.

Public-Hospital Imaging Upgrades Under Ayushman Bharat

The central government budgeted INR 90,659 crore (USD 11.3 billion) for the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in FY 2024–25, with a notable slice earmarked for diagnostic-equipment modernization. More than 8,700 public health facilities completed upgrades in FY 2023–24, many of which involved installing new 1.5 T magnets to fulfill Ayushman Bharat referral commitments. Five greenfield All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) campuses that opened in 2024 each added at least two 3 T scanners, creating training hubs for advanced neuroradiology. State governments mirror this momentum: Tamil Nadu’s health-infrastructure program funded 26 scanners in district hospitals, anchoring localized MRI services that previously required referrals to metro centers. Because public hospitals still conduct roughly 35% of all scans nationwide, the ripple effect on India MRI market volumes is decisive and long lasting.

AI-Enabled High-Field Imaging Boosts Throughput & Quality

AI-embedded reconstruction engines shrink average scan times from 30 minutes to under 10 minutes for routine neuro and MSK protocols, thereby tripling per-scanner daily throughput in busy outpatient settings. Siemens Healthineers’ MAGNETOM Flow and Philips’ SmartSpeed Precise platforms integrate zero-click protocol selection, relieving technologists of repetitive control-panel tasks and mitigating operator shortages. Diagnostic chains leverage these efficiency gains to drive same-center revenue without adding floorspace, strengthening the investment case for premium-priced systems in the India MRI market. AI-based denoising also lets providers down-field to 1.5 T systems for certain tasks, easing helium and power burdens while preserving image fidelity—an attractive proposition for facilities coping with utility-cost spikes. As radiologist burnout mounts, AI-assisted precohorting and lesion-flagging deliver interpretive consistency, thereby elevating clinical acceptance and boosting competitive advantage for facilities that adopt next-gen scanners early.

High Scanner Cost & Low Reimbursement Tariffs

Imported 1.5 T or 3 T scanners cost INR 6–9 crore (USD 730,000–1.1 million at FY 2024 exchange rates), a steep hurdle for small hospitals serving low-to-middle-income populations. Government reimbursement under Ayushman Bharat averages INR 3,000 (USD 36) per scan, barely covering electricity, helium, and maintenance. Consequently, many district-level facilities limit MRI utilization to complex cases, undercutting economies of scale and elongating ROI timelines beyond seven years. Although domestic manufacturing promises lower prices, early units still face validation delays, prolonging the affordability gap. Without tariff recalibration or bundled-payment alternatives, bottom-line pressure could temper India MRI market uptake in cost-constrained geographies.

Shortage of Trained Radiologists/Technologists

India has roughly 15,000 practicing radiologists for a population exceeding 1.4 billion, equating to one specialist per 93,000 people, far below OECD norms.^{[2]ACR Bulletin, “How Will We Solve Our Radiology Workforce Shortage?” acr.org} The 612 medical colleges graduate only about 1,200 radiologists annually, and most migrate to metros, leaving smaller cities underserved. Limited technologist training centers exacerbate bottlenecks; many institutions operate with a single technician running double shifts, raising burnout and quality-control risks. AI can automate select tasks, yet final interpretation still demands skilled oversight. Unless fellowship seats expand and tele-radiology networks scale nationally, the talent deficit could impede scanner-utilization rates and dilute India MRI market growth.

Segment Analysis

By Architecture: Closed Systems Maintain Dominance Amid Open MRI Innovation

Closed systems generated 75.83% of 2025 revenue in the India Magnetic Resonance Imaging market, reflecting provider preference for higher signal-to-noise ratios essential for neuro-oncology and vascular imaging. The sealed bore design also supports gradient strengths above 45 mT/m, enabling advanced diffusion and functional protocols that smaller clinics use to attract complex referrals. High utilization levels keep per-scan costs competitive, reinforcing closed scanners as the workhorse of the India Magnetic Resonance Imaging market. Patient comfort, however, remains a pain point; claustrophobia-induced cancellations can reach 8% in urban centers, prompting providers to explore supplemental open-system capacity.

Open systems, though holding only 24.17% of 2025 value, are projected to grow at 8.18% CAGR through 2030, outpacing the overall India Magnetic Resonance Imaging market. Better patient tolerance, bariatric-friendly table loads, and pediatric volumes drive adoption, especially within suburban diagnostic chains. AI-powered image-reconstruction software narrows the historical resolution gap, letting providers conduct routine spine and MSK studies with acceptable quality. Local OEMs leverage modular coil designs to shorten installation footprints, positioning open scanners as pragmatic expansion units where real estate costs are high. As reimbursement parity between open and closed scans spreads beyond Karnataka and Maharashtra, incremental installations may accelerate, diversifying vendor portfolios and reducing the dominance of sealed-bore architectures.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Field Strength: High-Field 1.5 T Dominance Faces Ultra-High Field Challenge

1.5 T scanners captured 56.18% of the India Magnetic Resonance Imaging market size in 2025, balancing diagnostic versatility with infrastructure friendliness; they require only 600 sq ft of shielded space and standard 45 kVA power. Public hospitals favor 1.5 T for broad-spectrum applications—from trauma triage to liver volumetry—maximizing reimbursement throughput. Domestic manufacture could trim acquisition costs by 35–40%, preserving 1.5 T’s market lead through 2030. Yet academic centers seek finer gradient fidelity for research; thus, 3 T and higher systems, although currently 14% of installed base, are forecast to grow faster than the India Magnetic Resonance Imaging market at 7.86% CAGR.

Ultra-high field (7 T) remains niche because of CDSCO clearance lags and INR 40 crore (USD 4.8 million) price tags. Still, premier institutes in Delhi, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad are provisioning space for future 7 T suites, encouraged by early neuroscience grants from the Department of Biotechnology. Low-field systems (<1.5 T) maintain marginal presence in point-of-care stroke and neonatal ICUs; Hyperfine’s 0.064 T portable unit gained marketing authorization in 2024 and can fit into ambulance bays, hinting at decentralized imaging opportunities. Taken together, field-strength segmentation underscores stratified purchasing behavior within the India Magnetic Resonance Imaging market: value-driven district hospitals gravitate toward 1.5 T, while flagship centers stretch into the ultra-high field frontier to differentiate academic output.

By Application: Neurology Leadership Challenged by Oncology Growth

Neurology retained 42.32% share of India Magnetic Resonance Imaging market revenue in 2025, propelled by higher case volumes of stroke, multiple sclerosis, and epilepsy, which all demand soft-tissue contrast unachievable with CT. Epilepsy pre-surgical mapping, for instance, drives routine 3 T functional MRI referrals in tertiary centers. Post-COVID neurological sequelae also boost outpatient MRI bookings, raising per-scanner workloads in urban regions. The segment’s leadership derives from entrenched clinical guidelines and rising awareness among neurologists practicing beyond metros.

Oncology, holding 18.7% value in 2025, now expands at 8.21% CAGR, nearly 1 percentage-point faster than the overall India Magnetic Resonance Imaging market. Multiparametric MRI underpins prostate and breast-cancer screening algorithms that state insurance schemes increasingly reimburse. Hospitals leverage AI-assisted lesion-grading tools to reduce reporting variance, enticing oncologists to order MRI over PET-CT for pre-operative staging in select cancers. Musculoskeletal, cardiology, and abdominal applications collectively make up the remainder, each advancing in mid-single digits as sports-medicine clinics, interventional cardiology programs, and gastroenterology departments adopt MRI for functional assessments that avoid ionizing radiation.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By End User: Hospital Dominance Faces Specialized Center Competition

General and specialty hospitals generated 48.17% of 2025 revenue in the India Magnetic Resonance Imaging market, benefitting from integrated care pathways that funnel in-patients and emergency cases directly to in-house scanners. Network expansions by Apollo, Fortis, and Max add 2,000 new beds and at least 30 magnets through 2027, anchoring hospital share near the 50% threshold. Government hospitals, including five new AIIMS campuses, bolster public-sector demand with procurement budgets protected from currency swings.

Specialized clinics and imaging centers contributed 35.4% in 2025 but will climb fastest at 8.83% CAGR, capitalizing on outpatient convenience, shorter wait times, and aggressive marketing of health-check packages. Franchise models allow asset-light growth; combined with vendor financing, smaller centers can deploy mid-field scanners in cities of 300,000–800,000 people. Research and academic institutes, though fewer, invest in ultra-high field capabilities for translational projects, sustaining a pipeline for advanced applications that filter downstream into clinical practice. These dynamics reinforce a multi-tiered delivery model that broadens India Magnetic Resonance Imaging market penetration while sharpening competition for specialized talent and maintenance contracts.

Geography Analysis

India Magnetic Resonance Imaging market adoption remains uneven across regions. The north—including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana—commands roughly one-third of installed scanners thanks to a dense private-hospital network and medical-tourism inflows. Western states such as Maharashtra and Gujarat follow closely because of robust corporate health-insurance coverage among formal-sector employees. Southern hubs—Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana—benefit from domestic manufacturing ecosystems that simplify spare-parts logistics and technician availability. Eastern states still lag; West Bengal’s per-capita scanner density is 40% below the national mean, while neighboring Odisha and Bihar depend heavily on centralized government hospitals for access. Government capital-grant programs aim to reduce this disparity, allocating funds for three new district imaging centers per underserved state in FY 2025–26, which should widen geographic reach for the India Magnetic Resonance Imaging market.

Urban areas dominate revenue, accounting for 70% of 2025 scans. Metro centers house multi-national hospital chains that run high-field and ultra-high field systems, catering to complex neurology and oncology cases. As land prices soar, these providers increasingly prefer compact 3 T units with 70 cm bore diameters and helium-free designs to lower operating costs. Suburban clusters evolve into overflow zones where mid-field scanners absorb elective imaging volume. Tier-2 cities such as Jaipur, Coimbatore, and Lucknow witness double-digit scanner growth as organized diagnostic chains establish satellite facilities, democratizing MRI access and reinforcing India Magnetic Resonance Imaging market momentum outside metro cores.

Rural utilization remains sparse. Only 14% of primary health-care blocks reported local MRI availability in 2024. Mobile 1.5 T vans funded under public-private partnerships now operate in Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan, offering on-site scans two days weekly and forwarding images to tele-radiology hubs in Bengaluru. While these pilots cover fewer than 50 vans nationwide, early clinical audits report 92% patient-satisfaction rates. If scaled, such models could unlock latent demand among the 65% of Indians living in non-urban locales, materially altering the spatial dynamics of the India Magnetic Resonance Imaging market.