Rita Teaotia, Commerce Secretary, today told that the Government of India is focusing on the issues like maintaining quality standards and ease in visa processing for making India, a global destination for the services in the healthcare.
India is emerging as the major destination for the affordable and quality healthcare sector. Teaotia said. She also said that the government is taking steps for making visas easier to obtain and more flexible in terms of administration.
Addressing to the foreign and national delegates at the event ‘Advantage Healthcare India 2015’ which was organized by the Commerce Ministry and the Ficci. She stressed on the requirement for focusing on the accreditation and quality standards of hospitals and laboratories for enhancing the confidence of the medical tourists who visit the healthcare system of India.
She also said that currently in the international health sector, the market leaders are Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. But India is also right up there and moving forward in terms of the market share and the performance since many years.
India is a great place for international patients, as this is the place where healthcare sector gamut finds the place. She added.
The India’s healthcare sector market size is expected to rise USD 160 billion by the year 2017 and currently around USD 79 billion.
Growing population and the increased income has triggered demand for services of quality health care. Teaotia said. The treatment cost in India is also less when compared to the western countries. One can get ayurveda, allopathy, nathuropathy and yoga in India. She added.
As per Tourism Secretary Vinod Zutshi, there is required need to market India as the top destination for medical tourists.
A total of 2.7 million medical tourists visits India yearly from many countries like the US, UK, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and China.
India’s e-tourist visa facility has been extended to 130 countries, and it will increase to 150 countries.
Relaxed and simplified medical visa rules for patients, desk for medical facilitation at the airports of India, medical visa with multiple entries and faster facilities of immigration for the overseas patients at the airports were also been recommended.
