India on the cusp of massive opportunity in medical tourism sector: Minister (Lead)

New Delhi, Nov 11 (IANS) Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday that India is on the cusp of a massive opportunity in the medical tourism sector and the government was open to the idea of giving visa-on-arrival for medical treatment to patients from countries like the United States and some European countries.

Addressing the CII Annual Health Summit here, the minister said, "The idea about visa on arrival is a good idea .For many countries, we allow visa on arrival, we allow e-visas and both these can be considered let's say for the United States, most of the European countries where we have a fair amount of comfort and where detailed investigations or enquiries are not required."

"We have countries where medical treatment is given as a part of the social welfare spending, but there are huge waiting times," he pointed out.

Goyal, however, said India must focus on making healthcare accessible for local people as well, and that India's health facilities should not only focus on an international medical value proposition. "It’s important that 1.4 billion Indians get access to affordable and quality healthcare first," he added.

Goyal urged healthcare players to sit down and work out how India can increase the nurses' output by maybe 100,000 nurses a year. "Because that's the level of demand in the world for our nurses, and we already have a shortage of nurses and caregivers.”

He also said that hospitals must strike the right balance between foreign patients and local patients. He raised the issue of hospitals agreeing to be a part of the Ayushman Bharat and helping the poor as a part of CSR, or will they share a part of the higher earnings from foreign medical treatments to serve the less privileged.

The minister hoped that the health summit would come up with a concrete action plan to strengthen the healthcare ecosystem, particularly in terms of infrastructure and capacity building.

He also highlighted that when the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014, there were only seven All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). In the last decade, this has risen to 23. "At the same time, 387 medical colleges almost doubled to 706 medical colleges."

Goyal said that India will be creating a very significant number of medical seats in the next five years until 2029, so the output of doctors, who come out of medical colleges, can increase significantly, and the medical infrastructure can be utilised smarter and better.

Speaking at another event in the national capital, Goyal said India will not compromise with the interests of farmers, dairy and workers in trade deals.

He also said India is looking for new markets such as Russia for the country's fishery sector, which is facing issues due to the steep tariffs in the US.

"We are working for a good trade deal. India is not going to compromise with the interests of farmers, dairy and workers... We are working on a fair,equitable and balanced trade deal," he said at the Udyog Samagam 2025, a conference of industries and commerce ministers of states.

--IANS

sps/na