Growth ofMedicalTourism

Medical visas mark growth of Indian medical tourism

India’s medical tourism sector is a growing source of foreign exchange as well as prestige and goodwill outside the country. Having supported medical tourism’s rapid growth, the government is under pressure to find ways to make the sector of benefit to public health services that are used by most of India’s 1.1 billion population.

Indian consulates and missions abroad face a growing number of inquiries about “M” or medical visas.

The Indian Ministry of Tourism’s 13 overseas offices are stocked with information for those intending to travel to India for medical treatment. The new M-visas are valid for a year and are issued for companions too.

Howard Staab, a 53-year-old from the United States, is one such tourist. His smiling face figures in the glossy brochure on medical tourism produced as part of Incredible India, the government’s big-budget marketing campaign to attract tourists.

Woman being treated for cholera in poor-resourced Indian hospital. The contrast between some public hospitals and the new centres of medical excellence in India is stark.