Key Details
At Sanjeevani 2026, held during the Bharat Health Global Expo in New Delhi, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal outlined five priorities for expanding India’s medical value tourism sector.
Priority | Proposed action |
|---|---|
Healthcare workforce | Train and certify caregivers to meet international service standards |
Hospital participation | Bring more hospitals onto the Heal in India gateway and publish transparent treatment packages |
Patient journey | Develop insurance and health-technology services supporting cashless payments, timely reimbursements and teleconsultations |
International reach | Promote Indian healthcare overseas and establish links with hospitals and facilitators in other countries |
Regional expansion | Make quality hospitals and wellness centres in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities more visible internationally |
Scale proposed: Increase annual medical tourist arrivals to 10 million.
Current reference point: The address said 3.5 million patients had used India’s medical tourism ecosystem over the preceding seven years.
Accreditation condition: International patients should be treated only by hospitals verified and empanelled under the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH).
Additional requirement: Create a pool of interpreters to help foreign patients navigate treatment.
Status: The address provides a policy direction and industry action plan; it does not announce a new scheme, budget, implementation schedule or binding annual target.
The Proposal Treats Medical Tourism as an End-to-End Service
Competitive treatment costs alone may not determine where an international patient seeks care. The proposed roadmap covers the journey from initial teleconsultation and price disclosure to insurance approval, hospital treatment, communication and reimbursement.
This broadens the medical-tourism proposition beyond clinical procedures. Hospitals, insurers, digital-health companies, facilitators and trained caregivers would need to function as parts of a connected service rather than as separate providers.
Heal in India Would Need a Larger, More Transparent Hospital Network
Hospitals were encouraged to join the Heal in India gateway and publish honest treatment packages. Clear information about prices and participating facilities could help patients compare providers before travelling and reduce uncertainty over costs.
The proposed model places accreditation at the centre of expansion. NABH verification would serve as the quality threshold for hospitals treating international patients, making the credibility and consistency of the accreditation process important to India’s reputation.
Expansion Beyond Metros Could Spread Investment and Employment
The roadmap seeks to extend international visibility to hospitals and wellness centres in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. This could widen the geographical distribution of investment in hospitals, diagnostics, accommodation and related services.
Regional expansion will depend on more than clinical capability. International patients also require transport connectivity, language assistance, reliable emergency care, post-treatment support and coordination between hospitals and local service providers.
The Workforce Requirement Extends Beyond Doctors
Training and certification were proposed for caregivers, while global demand was also identified for Indian nurses, technicians and other health professionals. Medical tourism could consequently generate employment across clinical care, diagnostics, hospital administration, interpretation and patient facilitation.
The same workforce is also required by India’s domestic health system. Expansion will therefore need to strengthen the overall supply of trained personnel rather than shift scarce workers between domestic patients, foreign patients and overseas employers.
The Scale Ambition Needs a Defined Baseline
The proposed goal of 10 million medical tourists annually is substantially larger than the figure of 3.5 million patients over seven years cited in the address. The release does not specify the target year or explain whether the two figures use the same definition of an international medical patient.
A measurable strategy would need consistent data on arrivals, treatments, spending, outcomes and countries of origin. Without a common definition and reporting system, progress towards the stated ambition would be difficult to assess.
What Is Medical Value Tourism?
Medical value tourism refers to travel across borders to obtain medical treatment, diagnostics, rehabilitation or wellness services. Patients may choose another country because of lower costs, shorter waiting periods, specialised clinical expertise or access to procedures unavailable at home.
Its economic activity extends beyond hospitals to pharmaceuticals, medical devices, insurance, travel, accommodation and post-treatment care.
Policy Relevance
Medical tourism sits across health policy, services exports, professional regulation, accreditation, visas and state-level healthcare administration. Scaling it will therefore require coordination extending beyond the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Quality is the basis of export credibility: A serious accreditation system must examine clinical standards, patient safety and grievance handling, not merely whether a hospital has completed certification requirements.
Transparent packages can reduce patient risk: Published prices are most useful when they clearly identify what is included, how complications are charged and what post-treatment support is available.
Domestic access remains part of the policy equation: International demand can support investment and specialised capacity, but expansion should not weaken access to trained personnel or timely treatment for Indian patients.
States will shape regional expansion: Cities outside established medical-tourism centres will need supporting infrastructure, trained workers and reliable referral systems before international marketing can translate into safe patient volumes.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: What common system will track international patient numbers, treatment outcomes, prices, complaints and effects on domestic healthcare access as the Heal in India network expands?
Follow the Full Update Here: Five-Point Roadmap for India’s Medical Value Tourism Sector