Primus Partners Maps India’s $300 Billion Care Economy, Projecting 60 Million Jobs by 2030
Mumbai: Primus Partners has released a new report, The Care Economy Boom: A $300 Billion Opportunity Set to Generate Over 60 Million Care Jobs by 2030, highlighting India’s care sector as a high-employment, low-capital industry with vast growth potential. The study positions care services—including childcare, eldercare, disability support, mental health, rehabilitation, and long-term care—as a critical yet under-recognized contributor to the economy.
According to the report, India’s care economy currently employs around 36 million workers. With targeted investments in skilling, formalisation, certification, and demand creation, this workforce could grow to over 60 million by 2030, generating a sector valued at $300 billion. Unlike capital-intensive industries, care services are labour-intensive, locally delivered, and resilient to automation, offering widespread employment across urban, peri-urban, and rural areas.
A key highlight of the report is the mapping of 13 paid care personas, spanning entry-level roles like domestic help, elder sitters, and beauty assistants; semi-skilled roles including childcare assistants, rehabilitation aides, senior living staff, and special needs caregivers; and skilled roles such as certified nursing assistants, counsellors, and palliative care workers. The framework underscores how structured skilling and certification pathways can improve wage mobility, income stability, and the dignity of work in a sector currently dominated by low-wage informal employment.
Launching the report, Nilaya Varma, Group CEO, Primus Partners, said, “Care is now essential economic infrastructure, yet largely invisible in policy. By mapping 13 care personas, this report shows how formalisation can turn care into a major engine of jobs and growth.”
Prof. Sanjay Zodpey, President, Public Health Foundation of India, added, “As care shifts from hospitals to homes, skilling and certifying the care workforce will be critical to both health outcomes and employment.”
Highlighting the gendered nature of care work, Dr. Meenakshi Hembram, Additional Director, DGHS, Delhi, noted, “Women form the backbone of India’s care economy, yet much of this work remains informal. Formalisation, fair wages, and access to social security are essential to building a more equitable care system.”
The report also outlines the NURTURE framework, which calls for mission-led governance, standardised skilling and certification, regulatory clarity, technology-enabled platforms, social protection for care workers, and demand creation through public systems and private enterprise. The study suggests that upcoming policy and budget cycles present a critical opportunity to integrate care into India’s core employment and economic growth strategy.
