GS Paper 2/3
Syllabus: Government policies/Issues Relating to Health/Economy
Source: PIB
Context: With an aim to improve medical tourism in the country, the Ministry of Tourism has formulated a National Strategy and Roadmap for Medical and Wellness Tourism (2022).
Background: India has been ranked 10th in the Medical Tourism Index (MTI) for 2020-2021 out of 46 destinations in the world by the Medical Tourism Association.
Medical vs wellness tourism:
- Medical tourism (valued at $60-80 billion globally) primarily addresses the “poor health” end of the market, with patients travelling to another place for specific medical treatments.
- Wellness tourism (~$639 billion), on the other hand, attracts those seeking destinations that extend their wellness lifestyle and help them proactively maintain and improve their health and well-being.
- As far as medical tourism is concerned, India currently has a $5-6 billion market (2019 figure) that may rise to $13 billion by 2026.
Govt. efforts to boost the medical tourism sector in India:
Streamlining Medical Value Travel (MVT): A segment that attracted 0.7 million foreign tourists in pre-pandemic 2019.
- MVT is a specialised service by Hospitals and Wellness centres including both modern as well as traditional systems of medicine.
- It involves healthcare service providers, VISA requirements, insurance, MVT facilitators, etc.
National Strategy and Roadmap for Medical and Wellness Tourism (2022): Key pillars for the development of MVT in the country:
- Develop a brand for India as a wellness destination
- Strengthen the ecosystem for medical and wellness tourism
- Enable digitalization by setting up an Online Medical Value Travel (MVT) Portal
- Enhancement of accessibility for Medical Value Travel
- Promoting Wellness Tourism
- Governance and Institutional Framework
Heal in India Initiative: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Ayush have been working with C-DAC and the Services Export Promotion Council for developing a One Step Heal in India portal for the Promotion of MVT.
Champion Service Sector Scheme: The Ministry of Ayush developed a Central Sector Scheme for MVT to incentivise private investors for the establishment of Super Specialty Hospitals, etc.
e-Tourist Visa scheme: It was liberalised and renamed as an e-Visa scheme and at present, it has e-Medical Visa and e-Medical Attendant Visa as sub-categories of e-visa.
National Medical & Wellness Tourism Board (NMWTB): The Ministry of Tourism constituted the Board in 2015 to provide a dedicated institutional framework to take forward the cause of promotion of Medical and Wellness Tourism.
| Opportunities | Challenges | Way ahead |
| A huge demand – an ageing population, long waiting periods in developed countries, etc | ● Regional competition (Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia)
● Lack of international accreditation (limited awareness about NABH) ● Overseas medical care not covered by the insurer ● Exploitation by middlemen |
● India is currently promoted as a destination under the “Incredible India” umbrella.
● There is an urgent need to highlight the wellness/medical tourism offerings for patients seeking such services. ● Establish linkages between stakeholders ● Digitalisation |
Insta Links: Heal in India
