India, July 25 -- Over the years India has witnessed a boom in its fertility sector, with an estimated 3-3.5 lakh IVF cycles annually as compared to fewer than 1 lakh cycles a decade ago. From changing lifestyles to fading social stigma, doctors shred light on the factors that led to the growth of IVF on World IVF Day. In Vitro Fertilisation or IVF is an assisted reproductive technology where an egg and sperm are combined in a lab and transferred to the uterus for a pregnancy after successful fertilisation of the embryo. While India's first IVF birth occurred in 1978, it was in 2019 that the IVF services market began seeing private equity investments. Further, in 2021, the India's Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Act brought IVF clinics under a formal legal framework. "While multiple IVF scams have been reported recently, a stronger fight against these require a collective effort from regulators, fertility clinics, healthcare professionals, and patients, says Dr Shalu Gupta, gynecologist. The industry was pegged at $1.4 billion (approx Rs.13,000 crore) in 2024 and projected to touch $4.9 billion (approx Rs.47,000 crore) by 2034 as per Customs Market Insights report. Earlier, most women seeking IVF in India were in their late 20s to early 30s. Today, women in their mid-to-late 30s and early 40s are opting for IVF, due to delayed marriage, career priorities, financial and delayed family planning, say experts. There is also more awareness that male factors contribute to nearly 40% of infertility cases, either alone or in combination with female factors....