Only 30% of India’s 500M blue- & grey-collar workers have formal health benefits. “Kavach” by Last Mile Care has reached 85K+ workers via on-site screenings & referrals, cutting undiagnosed hypertension by 35% and absenteeism by 12%.
Challenge
India’s industrial backbone is powered by nearly 500 million blue and grey-collar workers, yet only around 30 per cent are covered by formal health benefits. For the majority, healthcare remains fragmented, reactive, and financially burdensome. Basic preventive care such as vision checks, blood sugar or blood pressure monitoring is often out of reach, leading to late diagnosis and health crises.
More than 1,100 factory deaths and 4,000 injuries are reported every year due to undiagnosed conditions. In transport hubs, 30 per cent of drivers screened are found to need vision glasses but remain unaware, risking both livelihoods and road safety. Without systematic early detection, workers and their families face financial insecurity, employers experience higher absenteeism, and productivity losses ripple through the economy.
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Solution
Founded in 2021, “Kavach”, a B2B initiative by Last Mile Care is designed to close this healthcare gap by embedding preventive and primary healthcare directly within industrial clusters and transport hubs. LMC now operates seven on-site centres across states including Odisha and Haryana, delivering screenings, diagnostics, referrals, and affordable health solutions where workers live and work.
Each worker is provided with a unique digital health ID, enabling real-time tracking of medical history and portable records across centres. This combined physical and digital model ensures both accessibility and continuity of care. Kavach goes beyond mandated annual check-ups by offering continuous monitoring for conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, anemia and HIV. The programme also integrates affordable treatment options, such as low-cost vision correction while linking patients to secondary and tertiary care through referral networks.
Revenue is generated through corporate partnerships with firms such as Tata Steel, Honda, Jindal Steel and OYO, as well as industry-mandated health check-ups, subscription services, and individual consultations. Telehealth services, specialist referrals, and health credit financing for uncovered treatments further support financial sustainability.
Since October 2022, Kavach has reached more than 85,000 workers across seven centres in India. Regular blood pressure and glucose screenings have driven a 35 per cent reduction in undiagnosed hypertension and a 40 per cent increase in early diabetes detection.
Impact
The result: earlier interventions that save lives and reduce treatment costs. Absenteeism among screened workers has dropped by 12 per cent, improving productivity while easing financial pressure on families.
At the community level, the centres detect an average of three to five previously undiagnosed HIV cases per month per site, linking individuals to confirmatory testing and life-saving antiretroviral therapy. Vision screenings ensure drivers can work safely, while expanded services like physiotherapy and dental care provide holistic support that goes far beyond industry-mandated compliance.
Future outlook
The model is now moving into a new phase of growth. Within the next year, Kavach will open 05 additional centres in high-density industrial zones. Corporate partnerships are expected to expand, with a target of increasing check-up coverage by 30 per cent.
Over the longer term, Last Mile Care aims to scale to 70 or more centres across key industrial clusters nationwide. We are also exploring international markets particularly South-east Asia, Middle east and Africa for providing customized health services to blue and grey collar workers (including gig workforce).
Financial sustainability will be achieved through a balance of corporate contracts and consumer revenue streams, ensuring the model remains independent of grants or subsidies. The ambition is clear: to make preventive healthcare a standard feature of India’s industrial ecosystem, reducing disease burden, improving productivity, and embedding resilience for millions of underserved workers.
Past winning stories:
Last Mile Care Private Limited (LMC) is a healthcare company committed to revolutionizing the delivery of quality care. Our vision is to enhance accessibility and affordability of services in an inclusive manner. LMC is dedicated to minimizing health access disparities by providing preventive healthcare to the workforce through the establishment of health centers at or nearby their work premises.
Learn more about Last Mile Care through their website. To collaborate or connect, reach out directly to our SL25 team.
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