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

India Nuclear Imaging Market Trends and Insights

Growing Prevalence of Cancer and Cardiac Diseases

India logged 1.4 million new cancer cases in 2024, and the National Cancer Registry projects a 12.8% jump by 2025. Late-stage diagnosis remains common, with only 29% of tumors detected early, raising demand for precise PET and SPECT procedures that can delineate disease spread. Nuclear cardiology volumes are climbing as coronary artery disease afflicts younger cohorts; two-thirds of Indians aged 25-45 are now pre-hypertensive, prompting clinicians to choose non-invasive myocardial perfusion imaging to triage intervention. Rising lifestyle-related morbidity therefore directly boosts utilization across all nuclear imaging modalities, reinforcing the structural growth of the India nuclear imaging market.

Adoption of Hybrid PET-CT and SPECT-CT in Tertiary Hospitals

PET-CT installations have surpassed 50 units nationwide while SPECT-CT growth trails because of higher per-scan costs. However, cost-effectiveness studies show a PET-CT scan in India is priced at INR 4,600–31,000 (USD 55–372), far below global averages, shortening payback periods for large centers. CZT detectors and AI-assisted reconstruction improve resolution while lowering tracer dose, making hybrid imaging more attractive in radiation-safety-conscious facilities. As tertiary hospitals upgrade equipment, referral patterns shift toward comprehensive nuclear imaging suites, which further enlarges the India nuclear imaging market.

Ayushman Bharat Imaging-Infrastructure Roll-out

The Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission earmarks INR 64,180 crore (USD 7.84 billion) for diagnostics, including nuclear imaging units at district hospitals. Over 175,000 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs now provide screening pathways that feed into higher-level PET-CT services. The PM-JAY insurance scheme covers 550 million beneficiaries with annual limits of INR 5 lakh (USD 6,100), creating a predictable reimbursement stream for nuclear imaging. Improved public funding closes the urban-rural accessibility gap, sustaining multi-year demand momentum for the India nuclear imaging market.

Expansion of Domestic Radioisotope Production at BARC

The Dhruva research reactor operates at 100 MW and, together with the upgraded Apsara-U pool reactor, supplies Technetium-99m, Iodine-131, Lutetium-177, and emerging alpha emitters for local use. Cyclone-30 in Kolkata is the largest medical cyclotron in Asia, delivering Fluorine-18 and Gallium-68, with surplus capacity for export. Strong domestic supply mitigates disruptions in the global Mo-99 market and lowers tracer prices by up to 18%, enabling smaller centers to adopt PET-based protocols. Reliable isotope availability underpins predictable procedure volumes, consolidating the long-term expansion of the India nuclear imaging market.

High Equipment Acquisition and Maintenance Cost

Setting up a gamma-knife or PET-CT suite can cost INR 400 million (USD 4.88 million) when real estate, shielding, and licensing expenses are included. Smaller hospitals often lack patient throughput to justify such outlays, so metropolitan tertiary centers remain the primary installation sites, limiting geographic penetration of the India nuclear imaging market. Post-warranty service contracts priced at 8-10% of capital value per year strain operating budgets, particularly since spare parts are imported and dollar-denominated. Leasing programs and public-private partnerships are emerging, yet they remain nascent and do not fully erase the high-capex hurdle.

Scarcity of Skilled Nuclear-Medicine Technologists

Between 2012 and 2022 the annual graduating cohort of nuclear-medicine technologists shrank by 43% as students migrated to less specialized imaging tracks. Occupational-stress studies report 89% of working technologists experience burnout symptoms, raising attrition risks. Shortages are most acute outside large metros, extending scan appointment wait times and constraining capacity utilization. GE HealthCare launched a nationwide upskilling program in late 2024 to train 10,000 technologists over five years, but the pipeline will still lag the growth of the India nuclear imaging market in the medium term.

Segment Analysis

By Product: Radioisotopes Sustain Diagnostic and Therapeutic Momentum

Radioisotopes generated 60.34% of the India nuclear imaging market share in 2024, and the subsegment is forecast to post a 9.84% CAGR through 2030. Technetium-99m remains the workhorse for SPECT, accounting for roughly 80% of single-photon studies, yet its reactor-based production chain presents well-documented supply risk. PET radioisotopes such as Fluorine-18 are growing more swiftly, aided by new cyclotrons in Chennai and Hyderabad that reduce tracer decay losses during transport. On the therapeutic front, Lutetium-177 labeled compounds for neuroendocrine tumors and prostate cancer secured Drug Controller General of India approvals in 2024, spurring wider adoption. Domestic Lu-177 output at BARC meets 65% of national demand, trimming procedure costs by nearly 20% versus imported doses.

The equipment segment adds incremental value through hardware innovation, especially solid-state detector arrays that boost sensitivity in low-dose scans. Localization initiatives by GE HealthCare and Siemens Healthineers promise to shave 10-12% off unit prices by 2027, but maintenance costs remain elevated because high-precision crystals and vacuum components still come from overseas. Even so, rising equipment affordability broadens the customer base, supporting a virtuous cycle of radioisotope demand that further scales the India nuclear imaging market size.

By Application: Oncology Remains Dominant while Neurology Accelerates

Oncology commanded a 51.89% slice of the India nuclear imaging market size in 2024, driven by growing use of PSMA-based theranostics in prostate cancer and FDG PET for treatment response assessment. As the national cancer burden mounts, follow-up imaging volumes rise in tandem, reinforcing oncology’s lead. Neurology, while smaller, is the fastest-growing application at a 9.24% CAGR, propelled by regional clinical trials of amyloid-PET tracers for Alzheimer’s disease and dopamine transporter agents for Parkinson’s disease. Early evidence shows Ga-68 FAPI PET-CT improves detection of neuro-oncologic lesions that traditional imaging misses, catalyzing protocol updates in large teaching hospitals.

Cardiology holds steady demand thanks to rising nuclear stress test referrals, and the expected launch of Flurpiridaz F-18 in 2026 could push myocardial-perfusion PET volumes higher once reimbursement codes settle. Thyroid imaging retains a loyal clinical base through proven I-131 scan-and-treat protocols. Broader clinical acceptance of theranostic pairs spanning multiple disease areas spreads fixed costs, enlarging the total addressable segment pool and giving oncology and neurology a demand halo that anchors the India nuclear imaging market share leadership over the forecast horizon.

By End User: Hospitals Dominate as Imaging Centers Scale Up

Hospitals accounted for 68.26% of the India nuclear imaging market share in 2024 because they already control oncology referral pathways and possess shielded bunkers that meet AERB standards. Public tertiary institutes such as AIIMS lead in procedure volumes, but the private sector now contributes more than 55% of new PET-CT installations, reflecting investor appetite for high-margin diagnostics. Diagnostic imaging centers are expanding at a 9.87% CAGR, underpinned by franchise models that replicate PET-CT suites in tier-1 clusters. Lease-to-own arrangements lower upfront capital needs, enabling faster network rollouts.

Academic and research institutes nurture translational science, piloting first-in-human trials of alpha emitters like Actinium-225, yet their commercial footprint remains small. Nonetheless, they help seed clinical evidence, which later diffuses into hospital practice and imaging-center protocols. As outpatient care shifts higher imaging volumes away from inpatient departments, nimble standalone centers are poised to capture greater wallet share, adding diversity to the India nuclear imaging market structure.

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

Geography Analysis

Northern, western, southern, and eastern clusters display distinct maturity levels in the India nuclear imaging market. The western corridor centered on Mumbai and Pune boasts the densest concentration of PET-CT scanners, reflecting both private capital inflows and proximity to BARC isotope supplies. Southern states such as Tamil Nadu and Karnataka leverage strong medical-education ecosystems and favorable state procurement policies to pilot CZT SPECT installations in secondary cities. Northern India will soon gain strategic isotope resilience from the Gorakhpur nuclear project in Haryana, which promises to add Mo-99 production capacity by 2029.

Eastern India historically lagged in advanced imaging density, but the Cyclone-30 facility in Kolkata now delivers F-18 and Ga-68 to the region, shrinking scan wait times from five days to under 48 hours. Rural cancer incidence hotspots in the Northeast underscore ongoing access gaps; government-funded mobile PET-CT initiatives trialed in Assam could become scalable solutions if AERB refines interim licensing norms. Across geographies, Ayushman Bharat reimbursement parity reduces out-of-pocket cost variance, nudging patient flow toward accredited centers and reinforcing uniform growth across the India nuclear imaging market.

Regional competitive dynamics vary as well. Western metros remain price-competitive due to equipment density, while southern states differentiate through subspecialty expertise in theranostics. Northern operators invest aggressively in outreach clinics that funnel complex cases to flagship tertiary hubs. Collectively, these cross-currents propel a nationwide growth trajectory, confirming the India nuclear imaging market’s resilience to localized supply-demand imbalances.