India stands out as the rising medical tourism hub of India and currently occupies the 5th position worldwide. While Singapore and Malaysia have dominated the domain of medical tourism for decades, the spotlight is beginning to shift towards India, and a number of reasons are at play. Though affordable healthcare and advanced infrastructure stand out as almost no-brainers, let’s take a look at the top 3 reasons why India is rising to be the medical tourism hub.

1. Getting a medical tourism visa is easy, with no bureaucratic delays

The Ministry of Tourism has taken numerous steps to boost medical tourism in India. While they had relaxed e-visa norms for medical tourism long back, it still plays a crucial role in why India receives 5,00,000 medical tourists every year. Moreover, e-tourist visas were launched in 2014, following which the Medical and Medical Attendant Visa was introduced. It offers multiple entries and is valid for a year. You can get further extensions on it.

2. Indian Government pays close attention to the healthcare sector

The Indian Government has a huge role to play in the rising demand of India as a medical tourism hub. That’s because they’re pushing for accreditation of wellness centers and medical value travel facilitators. To boost the number of qualified health professionals and their availability in the country, it has also sanctioned the establishment of 75 new medical colleges, thus creating 15,000 more MBBS seats in India.

3. The privatization of the healthcare industry has been pivotal

With neoliberal policies, more and more healthcare facilities have been privatized in the last decade or so. The country’s top private hospitals have gone forward to seek international accreditations and have successfully formulated strategic partnerships with global agencies, which instills a sense of confidence in international patients to be traveling to India for their healthcare needs.

The aviation industry has witnessed phenomenal growth and factors like low-cost airfares and great connectivity with major international points and domestic points throughout the country have helped India to cater to growing patient mobility. The implementation of information technology in the healthcare and tourism space has also been an important reason why India has seen insistent strides in this medical tourism industry.