India should aim to attract 10 million medical tourists annually: Goyal

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Monday outlined a five-point action plan to strengthen India’s medical value tourism ecosystem and position the country as a gateway for international health and wellness services with the highest quality standards.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony of Sanjeevani 2026 at Bharat Health Global Expo 2026 in New Delhi, Goyal said the first priority should be to train and certify caregivers and develop a skilled workforce capable of providing healthcare of international standards.

The second point, he said, should be to encourage more hospitals to join the Heal in India gateway and publish honest and transparent treatment packages. He stressed that hospitals must follow ethical practices and never attempt to cheat patients, as one wrong action can lead to loss of goodwill, business and credibility for India.

As the third point, Goyal called upon insurers and health-tech companies to build products and platforms that make the patient journey more seamless, ensuring timely reimbursements and greater availability of cashless payments.

He also suggested that teleconsultations and telemedicine could be incorporated in a big way as an initial part of the medical value tourism journey.

The fourth point was the need to organise exhibitions and presentations across the world, establish facilitators and tie-ups with hospitals globally, and ensure that only National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH)-enabled, verified and panelled hospitals are allowed to treat patients coming from abroad. He stressed that NABH must maintain the highest standards with zero compromise.

As the fifth point, the Minister urged states to focus on quality in hospitals and wellness centres, expand their networks, make good-quality facilities globally visible and market these facilities for the welfare of patients.

He called for medical value tourism to expand beyond metropolitan cities to Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, creating jobs, opportunities and infrastructure while also helping upgrade healthcare for Indian patients.

Goyal noted that while 3.5 million patients have benefited from India’s medical value tourism ecosystem in the last seven years, the country’s target should be 10 million patients a year. He said India has the ability, capability, right doctors and the right ecosystem to achieve this.

He emphasised that high standards, ethics, integrity and honesty must be maintained and urged healthcare providers to go the extra mile in caring for international patients.