(This story originally appeared in on Jan 07, 2016)

Shares of Narayana Hrudayalaya rose 38% in its debut, valuing the hospital chain operator at $1billion (Rs 6,881 crore), and boosting the outlook for public offerings this year. Founder Dr Devi Shetty and his wife Shakuntala together hold 62% directly in the company, post offer, and Wednesday's share price values that at over Rs 4,200 crore.Dr Shetty is regarded as one of the pioneers of low-cost quality medical care in India.The offering raised about Rs 613 crore after its IPO was priced at Rs 250, the top end of the expected range of Rs 245250. The Bengaluru-based company's shares opened at Rs 291on Wednesday and touched a high of Rs 344, before closing at Rs 337 on the BSE.All the 245.2 crore shares for the IPO were offered by existing shareholders who constitute about 12% of the company's post-offer paid up share capital. Those who sold include US bank JPMorgan, and Shetty and his wife. JPMorgan's stake dropped to 4.67% from 10.67% after the offering.“India needs three million new beds for treatment and as of now, healthcare reaches about 10-15% of the population. The government cannot build so many beds and it has to be done by the private sector. And scaling in healthcare requires a lot of capital,“ Shetty told TOI. “We are in the process of commissioning four hospitals in the next two years in Jammu, Lucknow, Mumbai and Bhubaneswar.“Driven by population growth, rising income levels, and increase in lifestyle-related diseases, the healthcare delivery industry in India is expected to reach Rs 6.8 trillion by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 12%, according to research firm Crisil.