October 2026: For more than 20 years, Dr. Isaac Mathai, SOUKYA's founder, focused on building an integrative healthcare destination. The centre has majorly attracted royalty, heads of state, business leaders, and patients from more than 125 countries with the approach combining Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Naturopathy, Yoga, and conventional medicine under one roof, in this time span.
Even after its world-renowned reputation, the founder of the healthcare kingdom stated that the next phase of his work is aimed at making the same model available and accessible to a wider section of the Indian population. Dr. Issac has ensured that the new parallel healthcare system won't interrupt in the working of SOUKYA and on the contrary support its global presence, by enhancing factors such as insurance-support and to support the medical necessities of a global population as well.
The whole strategy revolves around SUGHA, an accessible integrative healthcare initiative beginning with a 100-bed hospital near SOUKYA in Hoskote, on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The long-term plan envisages a network of 1000 beds over the next five years through multiple 100-bed centers across cities including Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Kochi, besides tier-two cities. The first hospital under the SUGHA format is scheduled to open in mid-2027 in Hoskote.
Dr. Mathai said, "The model may be different, but the medical standards, the integration of different systems of medicine, and our focus on what is best for the patient must remain the same".
It has also been stated that SOUKYA's routine work won't be disturbed in maintaining a highly personalized residential integrative health centre serving Indian and international guests, while, on the other hand, SUGHA will provide residential integrative care across broader price points, with insurance support wherever possible for patients across income groups.
Long before SOUKYA's existence, charitable clinics operated by his team had begun serving villages around Hoskote. The whole initiative, which was able to cover only a handful of villages, now extends to nearly 150 villages and around 1.5 lakh people through free consultations and medicines. "These experiences demonstrated that integrative medicine could be both clinically relevant and socially accessible," Dr. Mathai opined.
Even though SOUKYA has become well-renowned for wellness tourism, nearly 70% of people who come to the centre are in search of help for specific medical conditions instead of preventive wellness. It includes chronic respiratory disorders, neurological diseases, autoimmune disorders, musculoskeletal conditions, irritable bowel syndrome, allergies, and skin diseases.
In terms of cancer care, SOUKYA positions itself as a complementary rather than alternative treatment provider, working alongside conventional oncology. The major emphasis of the healthcare system is on chronic disease management instead of acute intervention. He repeatedly states that even though modern medicine excels in emergency care, surgery, and infectious diseases, long-term conditions increasingly require a broader approach.
"The future of healthcare lies in collaboration rather than competition between medical systems," he recommended. "No single medical system has all the answers. Healthcare should be centered on achieving the best outcomes for patients, regardless of which medical tradition provides the solution," said DR. Mathai.
He believes that India's traditional systems of medicine provide an opportunity to complement conventional care instead of replacing it. He mentioned one of the famous examples relating to Ayurveda's emphasis on identifying disease tendencies before symptoms fully develop, allowing earlier intervention through lifestyle changes and thereby preventing or keeping a disease away for several years.
The demographic shift occurring across Europe, Japan, and North America, he observed, makes it increasingly relevant. As populations age, healthcare systems are also dealing with fewer infectious diseases and more with health issues such as diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, Parkinson's disease, and other chronic disorders that require continuous management instead of one-time treatment.
Along with the expansion of SUGHA in India, SOUKYA is also preparing for its first overseas venture. After having a detailed look at locations in Greece, Italy, and Spain over nearly five years, Dr. Mathai has chosen Portugal for his maiden international project. The 150-acre property, located around 45 minutes from Lisbon Airport, will include around 80 beds and is also expected to become operational by the end of 2028.
Dr. Mathai also supports greater collaboration between private healthcare providers and government efforts to develop India as a global medicinal value tourism destination through standardized quality benchmarks and accreditation.
