Union Minister of State for External Affairs Gen VK Singh (ret) said that Indian missions abroad should promote alternative treatment methods such as Ayush and Ayurveda. "We have asked all our presidents and all our missions to make a serious effort to promote Ayush and Ayurveda," he said.
He said 25 Indian missions had Ayush facilitation centers. "... and these are managed in a way that we would like them to become much bigger than what they are today," Singh said at the inauguration of an ASSOCHAM conference on MEDiTravel - 2017 'here.
Singh said the field has got tremendous potential which can make India the hub of medical facilities and allow rest of the world to come here. Mr. Singh indicated that MEA was aware of the need to simplify VISA procedures and sensitized all of its missions. He said the government is open to suggestions and recommendations to improve things for people who come for treatment from abroad.
Singh also said: "We have got both traditional medicine as well as alternative therapies and there are people in the world who look to India as the country for these cost-effective treatments."Misuse and abuse create problems for any new initiative," he added.
"The tourist looks for the facility which is at par with the best in the world, which is friendly, the staff who can guide you correctly and the doctors who are not going to overcharge you," he said.
In his address at the ASSOCHAM summit, Amarendra Khatua, Secretary (Special Assignment), MEA and DG, ICCR, stressed the Medi travel industry now needs concentrated and coordinated approach for growth, revenue generation and quality service.
He said, the pharmaceutical market is about USD 40 billion. He said the average growth rate is 14 percent per year at the GAEC and in real terms medical visa arrivals are increasing at almost 80 percent every year since 2010.
Medical tourism not only leads to increased foreign exchange earnings, higher tourism receipts and job creation, but also improves standards and accountability in local health services and increasing awareness, added Khatua. "It also creates great India brand," he said.
