New Delhi, Aug 30 - India's healthcare industry registered 42.44 percent growth in net profit during April-June, according to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham).

'When the whole world was reeling under global slowdown, the domestic healthcare sector registered healthy growth during the first quarter of the current fiscal,' the chamber said in a study 'Financial Health of the Indian Healthcare Industry'.

In the healthcare sector, the leading 10 companies posted a growth of 23.94 percent in total income and 21.37 percent in total expenditure during the quarter, the study said.

The employees' cost increased by 22.24 percent in the first quarter.

Apollo Hospitals, one of the leading healthcare groups in the country, registered 23.