Parliament Question: Promotion of Medical Value Tourism

GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE LOK SABHA UNSTARREDQUESTION NO. 4729 TOBE ANSWERED ON 20TH MARCH, 2026 PROMOTION OFMEDICALVALUETOURISM 4729.SHRITANGELLAUDAYSRINIVAS: SHRIAPPALANAIDUKALISETTI: Will the Minister of HEALTHANDFAMILYWELFARE be pleased tostate: (a) whether the Government has undertaken any initiatives for the promotion of Medical Value Travel and Human Resource Mobility under the ‘Heal in India, Heal by India’ programme and if so, the detailsthereof includingthe funds allocated/released/utilised since its inception, year-wiseandState-wise; (b) whether the Government maintains data on medical tourism and if so, the details thereof includingthe numberof international patientsvisiting the country; (c) the details of patient inflows and revenue generated during the last five years, year-wise, country-wise andState/UT-wise alongwith the number of medicalvisas issued during the last five years, country-wise; (d) whether the Government has identified the top five States/UTs receiving the highest numberof medicaltourists during the said periodandif so, the detailsthereof,State/UT-wise; (e) whether the Government proposes to establish a unified digital platform providing informationonhospitals, treatment costs andlogistics for internationalpatients andif so, the detailsthereof; and (f) whether the Government proposes to establish State-level facilitation centres to assist internationalmedical tourists andif so, the detailsthereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OFSTATE IN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SMT. ANUPRIYAPATEL) (a) to (f): The medical tourism sector incorporates initiatives of several Ministries/Departments/trade bodies along with private sector hospitals. The Central Government, primarily through Ministry of Tourism, promotes various tourism products of the country, includingmedical& Wellness tourism through variousinitiatives. Further, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has intimated that they, through Missions/Posts abroad, actively promote India as a global hub for medical value tourism byconducting outreach sessions with local stakeholders and facilitating connections between reputed Indian hospital chains and counterparts overseas. These efforts enhance awareness of India's advanced, affordable medical services and strengthen patient inflow from partner countries. MEAalso promotes India'straditional systems of medicineand wellness, including Ayurveda and Yoga, through cultural diplomacy initiatives, International Day of Yoga celebrations, and targeted engagements with foreign institutions. Missions abroad collaborate with AYUSH practitioners and stakeholders to highlight India's holistic healing ecosystem and expand its global reach. Besides, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) supports the medicaltourism sector by undertaking stakeholder consultationand coordination activities among various Government Ministries/Departments as well as private players like NATHEALTH, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), Services Export PromotionCouncil (SEPC),etc. Additionally, SEPC, set up by Ministry of Commerce and Industry has been mandated to facilitate global business opportunities for India’s services sector including promotion of Medical Value Tourism. SEPC is engaged in organising of Buyer Seller Meets (BSMs) and Reverse Buyer Seller Meets (RBSM), under Market Access Initiative (MAI) schemes, where foreign delegates (buyers) are hosted in India to meet with Indian hospitals and healthcare providers. SEPC organizes events like "Sanjeevani" and initiatives like Advantage Healthcare to showcase India's medical capabilities to international stakeholders. The Ministry of Tourism has also provided a link on its websites to the http://www.indiahealthcaretourism.com portal of SEPC. Further, the Ministry of Tourism has intimated that as per information received from Bureau of Immigration, Ministry of Home Affairs, the details of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) for medicalpurpose inthe past five yearsare asfollows: A. FTAsfor Medical Purposesyear-wise: FTAs for Medical Year Purposes 2021 3,23,748 2022 4,74,798 2023 6,59,356 2024 6,44,387 2025(P) 5,02,845 B. Top source countriesfor medicaltourism: FTAsfor MedicalPurposes S.No. Country 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025(P) 1 Bangladesh 1,86,633 3,26,805 4,99,951 4,82,336 3,23,144 2 Iraq 15,357 30,701 28,758 32,008 30,217 3 Somalia 3,847 1,006 15,947 11,717 11,309 4 Oman 7,610 11,121 13,397 10,431 9,674 5 Uzbekistan 3,847 6,768 7,081 8,921 13,599 (P):Provisional ***