India should aim for 10 million medical tourists a year: Piyush Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said India should aim to attract 10 million medical value tourists every year, calling for a concerted push to expand the country's healthcare services globally.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Sanjeevani 2026 conference at the Bharat Health Global Expo in New Delhi, Goyal outlined a five-point action plan to strengthen the medical value tourism ecosystem and position India as a global hub for health and wellness.

His priorities include training and certifying caregivers, encouraging more hospitals to join the 'Heal in India' gateway, and ensuring transparent treatment packages. He cautioned hospitals against unethical practices, warning that even a single incident could damage India's credibility and business prospects.

The minister also stressed the need for a seamless patient journey, urging insurers and health-tech firms to develop products enabling timely reimbursements and wider cashless payment options. He suggested teleconsultation could play a larger role even before a patient travels to India.

Goyal called for global outreach through exhibitions and tie-ups with hospitals abroad, adding that international patients should be treated only at NABH-accredited facilities. He also urged states to focus on quality in hospitals and wellness centres and to expand medical value tourism beyond metros to tier-II and tier-III cities.

He proposed creating a pool of interpreters to assist international patients, which he said would improve communication and build confidence.

Goyal emphasised that healthcare standards should be uniform for Indian and foreign patients, with no discrimination based on wealth. He noted that India's clinical excellence and advanced technologies, combined with healthcare costs that are 60-80% lower than in developed nations, give the country a competitive edge.

He highlighted that around 3.5 million patients have benefited from India's medical value tourism ecosystem in the past seven years. Achieving the 10-million annual target, he said, would generate employment across pharmaceuticals, medical equipment manufacturing, hospital infrastructure, and services.

The minister stressed that high standards, ethics, and integrity must remain central to this expansion. He described the Quality Council of India as vital to the nation's development goals and called for the NABH system to be professionally managed and free from influence. He urged stakeholders to report any unethical practices to the government, noting that eliminating corruption is a key focus.