Star Health Launches 32 Arogya Seva Kendras Across 9 States; Targets 1 Million Lives Under CSR Initiative

Free primary care clinics to focus on hypertension, diabetes screening and adult vaccination support

Chennai: Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Limited has launched 32 Arogya Seva Kendras (ASK) across nine states under its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme, aiming to strengthen access to structured primary healthcare services and reach over one million people.

The first Arogya Seva Kendra was inaugurated in Egmore, Chennai, marking the beginning of a phased rollout that includes cities such as Nagercoil, Thoothukudi, Tiruppur and Karur in Tamil Nadu, along with locations across Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra.

The clinics are being implemented in partnership with Piramal Swasthya, part of the Piramal Foundation, and will provide services free of cost. These include MBBS doctor consultations, screening for non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and anaemia, laboratory diagnostics, medicines for common and chronic ailments, counselling, and adult pneumococcal vaccination support.

The initiative comes against the backdrop of rising non-communicable disease burden in India. In several participating districts, hypertension prevalence ranges between 20 percent and 40 percent among adults, while diabetes prevalence reaches nearly 29 percent in certain geographies.

Anand Roy, MD and CEO, Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Limited, said primary care must form the foundation of India’s healthcare strategy. “We cannot hospitalise our way out of the non-communicable disease crisis; primary care is where healthcare equity begins. When screening, medicines and follow-up are consistently accessible, complications are prevented before they become catastrophic,” he said.

Star Health is funding both capital and operational expenditure for the clinics under its CSR allocation, while Piramal Swasthya will oversee implementation, staffing and clinical governance.

Ajay Piramal, Chairman, Piramal Group, said the partnership builds on nearly two decades of community health engagement. “This CSR partnership brings trusted, comprehensive primary care closer to communities, impacting over a million lives through accessible consultations, diagnostics and free medicines,” he said.

Pfizer is supporting the initiative by contributing expertise in adult vaccination. Saral Gupta, Director Market Access, Pfizer India, noted that adult immunisation remains an overlooked yet vital component of preventive healthcare, adding that India bears 23 percent of the global burden of community-acquired pneumonia.

Each clinic will operate with dedicated medical teams and defined service protocols to ensure continuity of care and structured patient follow-up . The Chennai launch marks the start of a long-term programme focused on preventive, accessible and community-based healthcare delivery.

About Star Health

Founded in 2006, Star Health is India’s first standalone health insurance company and a market leader in the segment. The company offers health, personal accident and travel insurance products, operates through more than 900 offices and 8 lakh agents, and works with over 14,500 network hospitals. In FY2025, it reported a gross written premium of ₹16,781 crore and a net worth of ₹8,668 crore.