Piyush Goyal sets 10 crore target for medical value tourism

India should aim for 10 million medical tourists a year, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday, stressing the need for greater hospital participation, trained caregivers, seamless patient journeys and stringent quality standards to expand India’s healthcare services globally.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony of Sanjeevani 2026 at the Bharat Health Global Expo 2026 in New Delhi, Goyal outlined a five-point action plan to strengthen the country’s medical value tourism ecosystem and position India as a global gateway for health and wellness services.

He said the first priority should be training and certifying caregivers and creating a skilled workforce capable of providing health care to international standards.

The second priority should be to encourage more hospitals to join the Heal in India gateway and post fair and transparent treatment packages. Hospitals must follow ethical practices and should not try to cheat patients, he said, warning that even one such incident could damage India’s goodwill, credibility and business.

His third priority was to make the patient journey smoother. He called on insurance companies and health technology companies to develop products and platforms that enable timely reimbursement and wider availability of cashless payments. Teleconsultation and telemedicine, he said, could also become an important part of the tourism journey for healing values even before the patient travels to India.

Fourth, he called for exhibitions and presentations in countries around the world, facilitators and collaborations with hospitals around the world. He said that international patients should be treated only in NABH (National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers) accredited, verified and panel hospitals.

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According to him, the fifth priority should be for states to focus on quality in hospitals and wellness centers, expand their networks and make quality facilities globally visible. Medical tourism should also expand beyond metropolitan cities to tier-II and tier-III cities, creating employment and business opportunities while helping to improve healthcare infrastructure for Indian patients.

Goyal also suggested creating a group of interpreters for international patients speaking different languages, saying it would improve communication and give patients more confidence during their healthcare journey.

Equal treatment

The minister emphasized that there should be no difference in healthcare standards between Indian and foreign patients. India should provide every Indian patient with the same quality of healthcare as it would provide to someone coming from abroad and should not discriminate between the rich and the poor.

According to him, patients who travel to another country for treatment feel anxious and look for clarity, dignity, ethical practices and integrity in the health care system. Those who come to India from Africa, Asia, America and Europe put their trust in the country at every stage of their healthcare journey.

He said India has clinical excellence and advanced technology, while the cost of healthcare in the country is 60-80% lower than other parts of the world, especially developed countries.

India’s pharmaceutical industry, medical sector, diagnostics and traditional systems of medicine, including Ayurveda, Yoga and Unani, along with its doctors, nurses, technicians, caregivers and hospitals together constitute the country’s strength, he said.

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A great opportunity

According to Goyal, the expansion of the sector can create jobs and business opportunities in pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing, hospital infrastructure and health services.

He said around 3.5 million patients have benefited from India’s medical value tourism ecosystem in the last seven years, but the country should aim to serve 10 million patients annually.

He said the country has the capabilities, doctors and ecosystem needed to achieve this, while stressing that high standards, ethics, integrity and honesty must remain central to the expansion.

The minister said healthcare providers must go the extra mile in caring for international patients and ensure that India’s growth as a medical tourism destination is built on trust.

He said that India should not miss the opportunity offered by tourism with medical value and should use its medical capacity to serve both domestic and foreign patients.

The minister said Bharat Health aimed to bring together the country’s fragmented healthcare ecosystem and urged stakeholders to work together.

According to him, healthcare is an area where collaboration is particularly important, as even a small mistake can have serious consequences.

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He emphasized that the boom in tourism with medical value must be accompanied by quality, professional integrity and ethical practices.

He described the Quality Council of India as one of the important institutions for the country’s ambition to become a developed country by 2047 and said that maintaining high standards would be crucial for India’s future.

The minister also emphasized the importance of professional integrity in healthcare certification and said the NABH system should be professionally managed and not influenced.

He urged stakeholders to report any unethical practices involving NABH or other certification bodies and said they should approach the government if such issues arise. According to him, the elimination of corruption is a key goal of the government.