Govt plans special desks at 10 airports, simplified visa norms

NEW DELHI: Interpreters and special desks at 10 airports, a multi-lingual portal and simplified visa norms are going to be the highlights of the government’s ‘Heal in India’ initiative to boost medical tourism.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to announce the initiative on August 15 and the Health Ministry is putting finishing touches to its various aspects and measures for ease of overseas patients.

The government has identified 44 countries from where a large number of people visit India for medical purposes, official sources told, adding the cost and quality of treatment in these nations were also taken into account.

These are predominantly African, Latin American, SAARC and Gulf countries, they said.

The 10 identified airports – Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Guwahati -- see higher footfalls of patients from these 44 countries, the sources said.

“In a bid to boost medical travel and provide end-to-end patient journey facilitation, the government will deploy language interpreters and set up health desks at the 10 identified airports for queries related to medical travel, transport, boarding and lodging among others,” one of the sources said.

The ‘Heal in India’ initiative aims to positioning the country as a global hub for medical and wellness tourism.

According to estimates, the medical tourism market which was valued at USD 6 billion in 2020 fiscal year is expected to more than double and reach USD 13 billion by 2026, an official source said.

The Health Ministry, in collaboration with the National Health Authority, has developed a multi-lingual portal which would be a one-stop shop for services provided by medical travel facilitators and hospitals with an interface for foreign patients. The portal is also likely to be launched on August 15.

The portal will display standardized package rates based on the classification of hospitals and different systems of medicines including modern and traditional systems. It will also have a grievance redressal section as well as an option to submit patient feedback.

The medical tourism market which was valued at USD 6 billion in 2020 fiscal year is expected to more than double and reach USD 13 billion by 2026