Question : Medical Tourism

(a) whether tourists coming for medical treatment in the country are facing a number of problems and if so, the steps taken by the Government to streamline the process of medical tourism in the country;
(b) whether the Government has set up any Committee or Sub-Committee to address the issues in medical tourism and if so, the details thereof and the main issues taken up by the said Committee along with the details of rise/fall of performance of this sector during the last three years;
(c) whether the Government has any mechanism to keep a tab on number of people who have visited India as medical tourists and if so, the details thereof;
(d) whether the Government proposes to cap the costs of various medical tourism products and if so, the details thereof; and
(e) whether the Government is planning to provide free local mobile SIM cards to medical tourists and if so, the details thereof along with the time by which it is likely to be provided?

MINISTER OF STATE FOR TOURISM (INDEPENDENT CHARGE)
(DR. MAHESH SHARMA)

(a) to (e): A National Medical and Wellness Tourism Board has been constituted to provide a dedicated institutional framework to take forward the cause of promotion of Medical Tourism, Wellness Tourism and Yoga, Ayurveda Tourism and any other format of Indian system of medicine covered by Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH). This Board works as an umbrella organization that governs and promotes this segment of tourism in an organized manner. It has representatives from AYUSH, Quality Council of India, National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH).

Three Sub-Committees have been setup to look into the issues relating to visa, accreditation and allied services and marketing & promotion of Medical and Wellness Tourism.

The Government of India has Medical Visa and Medical Attendant Visa as separate categories of Visa to facilitate entry of medical tourists in India. The foreign tourists who visited India for medical purpose during 2012, 2013 and 2014* were 171021, 236898 and 184298, respectively (*Data for the year 2014 is of visa type by Nationality. Earlier data is of Nationality-wise FTAs by purpose of visit based on the information recorded in disembarkation card).

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