New Delhi: Delhi-NCR is emerging as the country’s leading hub for robotic surgery, with 39 hospitals equipped with robotic systems, including 11 with multiple machines. Robotic-assisted procedures in the region have also increased nearly fivefold in four years, reaching 10,937 in 2025, data presented at Society of Robotic Surgery India 2026 conference showed.The number of robotic procedures in Delhi-NCR rose from 2,257 in 2021 to 3,594 in 2022, 5,024 in 2023, 7,595 in 2024 and 10,937 in 2025. The three-day conference began on Friday. The three-day conference began Friday.Delhi-NCR’s installed base of robotic surgical systems is concentrated in integrated delivery networks (IDNs), which comprise a chain of hospitals, clinics and other healthcare providers operating under a coordinated system. IDNs account for 69% of the region’s installed systems, compared with 23% in private and 8% in govt hospitals. Across India, the corresponding shares are 54%, 33% and 13%, respectively.The growth has been spread across specialities. In 2025, general surgery for benign conditions accounted for around 33% of robotic procedures, followed by urology (30.2%), gynaecology (22.1%) and general surgery for malignant conditions (10%). Robotic procedures were also performed in head and neck, thoracic and cardiac surgery.The concentration of robotic systems and growing surgical volumes reflect the development of expertise in the region, said Dr Vivek Bindal, organising chairman, SRS India, and principal director and head, department of minimal access, bariatric and robotic surgery, Max Hospital, Delhi.“Delhi-NCR has emerged as a leading force in India’s robotic surgery journey, with the highest concentration of robotic-system installations in the country and a rapidly expanding volume of procedures. It reflects the depth of expertise and institutional adoption that has developed in the region,” he said.The growth in the region comes as robotic surgery expands rapidly across the country. Nationally, the number of robotic-assisted procedures increased from 8,912 in 2021 to 44,857 in 2025.Union health minister J P Nadda, addressing the conference through a video message Friday, said India had an opportunity to not just adopt surgical robotics but also innovate and develop the technology.Delhi-NCR is also becoming a testing ground for robotic telesurgery, with surgeons operating remotely through robotic systems. Prof Dr Anup Kumar of Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital recently performed a robotic telesurgery procedure from Gurgaon on a patient in Hyderabad. At the SRS conference, doctors from Max Super Speciality Hospital, Vaishali, also demonstrated cross-border robotic telesurgery between India and China, remotely operating a system nearly 5,000 km away in Chengdu during pre-clinical procedures.Experts said telesurgery could eventually connect specialist expertise in major centres with hospitals in smaller cities, while enabling remote training and tele-mentoring. The conference is also examining requirements such as connectivity, cybersecurity, surgeon training, credentialing, emergency preparedness and regulatory safeguards.
