India has become one of the world’s most cost-effective healthcare destination with the latest technology tools deployed across care delivery, said Union minister of state for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh on Thursday.
Addressing the Healthcare Leaders‘ Summit 2022, the minister said that more than 10 lakh medical visas were issued between 2019 and 2022. “The number is quite significant as there was almost complete ban on international travel during the pandemic. The country is fast emerging as the medial tourism hub of the world. India has almost 600 globally and nationally accredited hospitals that provide world-class treatment in cost-effective manner.”
Singh added that healthcare sector in India is expected to grow to reach a size of $50 billion by 2025, while the global medical tourism market is estimated to be worth about $72 billion. “India’s share in medical tourism is expected to be around 10 billion dollars by 2023. The country is also world’s largest supplier of generic drugs.”

He said that the intention and policies of the government are in perfect alignment for creating affordable healthcare for all. “The Modi government is hand-holding in harnessing the enthusiasm of scientific brilliance and addressing the most pressing healthcare challenges of the current generation and being future-ready.”

The minister said that massive efforts are on to build a robust life sciences ecosystem through science and research. “It will in turn reduce health inequalities and build a clear road map on the continuing successes of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics. The action plan laid out by the government to support healthcare stakeholders to create a vibrant healthcare ecosystem in the country is happening through funding, incentives, government and industry-academia partnership and incubation.”

The whole world recognized India’s leadership role during COVID-19, as it achieved the rare feat of delivering over 220 crore vaccinations through a fully digital platform – Cowin and the process continues. “During the pandemic, India played a crucial role in the rapid development and distribution of vaccines globally. Going forward, what are the evolving mechanisms for supporting end-to-end development and testing pipeline for vaccines by strengthening engagement between industry, academia and government.”
“The proactive government initiatives as the topic of the Summit suggests can be best illustrated, as it was Modi again, who launched the startup India from the ramparts of Red Fort in 2015, and today we have more than 80,000 start-ups from 400 odd start-ups in 2014. Prime Minister’s special focus on Science, Technology and Innovation has fired the imagination of the youth in the country to innovate and solve problems with new ideas and we have startups fast emerging in the fields like IT, agriculture, aviation, education, energy, health and space sectors,” he added.
He added that at present there are over 4,000 healthtech startups in India spanning from platforms helping to monitor health conditions, apps using AI to detect illnesses and diseases, platforms connecting patients with doctors, and much more and hoped that this ecosystem will grow further and become the leading sector in the world.