STATE TIMES NEWS
NEW DELHI: India has emerged among the world’s most cost-effective healthcare destinations with medical tourism contributing significantly to the country’s economy.
This was stated here on Thursday by Union Minister, Dr Jitendra Singh while addressing the Healthcare Leaders Summit-2022 organised by the Economic Times.
Dr Jitendra said, more than 10 lakh medical visas were issued to foreigners between 2019 and 2022 and the country is fast emerging as the Medical Tourism Hub of the world.
He said, this number is quite significant as there was almost complete ban on international travel during the pandemic.
The Minister also pointed out that India has almost 600 globally and nationally accredited hospitals that provide world-class treatment in cost-effective manner.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, healthcare sector in India is expected to grow to reach a size of $50 billion by 2025, while the global medical tourism market is estimated to be worth about $72 billion.
He said, India’s share in medical tourism is expected to be around 10 billion dollars by 2023. Moreover, the country is the world’s largest supplier of generic drugs, the Minister added.
Dwelling on the topic of the summit, “Building a Cohesive Healthcare Ecosystem in India through Proactive Government Initiatives” Dr Jitendra pointed out that only last month, while inaugurating health facilities in Gujarat, Prime Minister Modi said, “If the heart and intention of the government are not filled with concern for the people’s problems, then the creation of suitable health infrastructure is not possible”.
The Minister emphasized that the intention and policies of the government are in perfect alignment for creating affordable healthcare for all.
Dr. Jitendra Singh concluded by saying that one can’t visualize India @2047 through the prism of 2022.