Market Review
and Outlook
per family, particularly the poor and
economically weaker sections of society.
In addition, senior citizens aged 60 and
above would receive an additional benefit of
INR 30,000.
Growing Medical Tourism
India is acknowledged as one of the
leading destination for medical tourism,
providing quality healthcare services at
competitive prices. According to The
Economic Times, India ranks among the
top three medical tourism destinations in
Asia alongside Thailand and Singapore
9
.
In the last decade, India has seen a shift
towards patients travelling from developed
nations to developing nations due to
lower costs, shorter waiting periods and
easy accessibility to information on the
internet. The medical tourism market is
forecasted to reach approximately USD 11
billion in 2019 at a CAGR of 30.0% from
approximately USD 3 billion in 2014
4
. India’s
cost advantage gives it an edge over other
countries such as Singapore and Malaysia,
allowing medical tourists to save 30.0%-
70.0%
4
of their treatment costs compared
to seeking treatment in other developed
countries. Popular treatment options
include cardiology, orthopaedics, neurology,
oncology and nephrology.
The Indian government recognises the
potential of this sector and has since looked
to establishing a Medical Intelligence
Tourism Board to further develop India as
a medical tourism hub
10
. Medical tourists
from Bangladesh and Afghanistan form
majority of the Indian Medical Value Travel
1,000 persons
1
. Currently, an additional 1.5
million more doctors, 2.4 million nurses
and 3.0 million beds are required to fulfil
the current healthcare workforce gap to
meet the global average
1
. The shortage of
qualified medical professionals remains one
of the key challenges which the healthcare
sector faces.
The new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – led
government has accorded priority to further
development of the healthcare industry
through the National Health Policy (NHP)
2015 and its Union Budget 2015-16. The
government introduced the NHP in early
2015 with an aim to provide universal
health coverage and address the need for
improving health systems in India. Under the
NHP 2015, the new policy would allow for
greater freedom in designing and delivering
health programmes to include non-
communicable diseases in addition to the
existing primary care services provided. The
Indian government announced in its recent
Union Budget 2016, an allocation of INR 395
billion
8
to the Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare, and approximate 13% increase
from the last budget. This is consistent with
the government’s underlying theme of its
current year Budget built around nine pillars
with healthcare as one of the social pillars.
PRIVATE INVESTMENTS
The private sector has a strong presence
in India’s healthcare sector, forming the
substantial portion of its growth. Hospitals
and diagnostic centres saw Foreign Direct
Investments (FDIs) of approximately USD 3
1
billion between April 2000 and September
(MVT) with a 34.0%
11
share. Medical tourists
from Africa, GCC and the CIS regions,
currently make up 30.0% and present the
maximum possible opportunity for the
Indian healthcare sector. Within India,
Chennai, Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh and the
National Capital Region (“NCR”) form the
more popular medical tourism destinations
for the floating medical population who
seek treatment in India.
India’s medical tourism has been lifted
by the emergence of premium hotel
chains offering special facilities as well as
customised packages and services to cater
to medical tourists.
All of the above factors point a sustainable
demand for more and better quality
healthcare facilities and treatment in India.
OPPORTUNITIES IN THE INDIAN
HEALTHCARE SECTOR
GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES
FOR THE HEALTHCARE SECTOR
IN INDIA
The healthcare infrastructure required
to meet a growing disease burden of the
country requires further investment. India
continues to face a widening demand-
supply gap of medically-trained staff
alongside growing incidences of age-
and lifestyle related chronic diseases
due to a growing middle class and affluence.
In comparison to the global World Health
Organisation (WHO) average of 2.5 doctors,
2.5 nurses and 2.9 beds per 1,000 persons
1
,
India has 0.7 doctors and 1.5 nurses per
COSTOF SURGERIES INDIFFERENTCOUNTRIES (USD), 2014
1
USA
144.0
50.0
50.0
100.0
Korea
28.9
14.1
19.8
15.4
Thailand
15.1
7.9
12.3
9.1
Malaysia
11.4
7.5
7.0
7.0
India
5.2
7.0
6.2
6.5
Heart Bypass
Hip Replacement
Knee Replacement
Spinal Fusion
USD11billion
The medical tourismmarket is
forecasted to reach approximately
in 2019 at a CAGR of 30.0% from
approximately USD 3 billion in 2014
4
medical
tourism
in india
008
Religare Health Trust
