Medical tourism: Rs 8,000cr by 12
Easy access to visa facilities permitted by India to overseas patients coupled with the best emerging medical infrastructure in large and tertiary towns will make the country earn to an extent of Rs 8,000 crores in foreign exchange by 2012, a new study has said. Currently, the earnings accrued through medical tourism annually are estimated at Rs 3,500 crores. A comparison of the medical treatment costs of various countries shows that a procedure like bone marrow transplant costs $2,00,000 in USA, up to $2,00,000 in UK, $62,500 in Thailand and just around $20,000 in India.