India Issues Over 360 Ayush Visas in 2023-24, Boosting Medical Tourism

A total of 123 regular Ayush Visas, 221 e-Ayush Visas and 17 e-Ayush Attendant Visas have been issued between July 27, 2023, and December 4 this year, Union Minister of State for Ayush Prataprao Jadhav told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

The government introduced on July 27 last year a separate category of Ayush Visa for foreigners visiting India to avail treatment under the Ayush system of medicine, he said in a written reply.

The Ayush Visa is available under four sub-categories -- Ayush Visa, Ayush Attendant Visa, e-Ayush Visa and e-Ayush Attendant Visa.

Ayush Visa is granted to a foreigner whose sole purpose is to seek treatment through Ayush systems like therapeutic care and wellness in a hospital or wellness centre accredited and registered with any government authority or National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers/National Commission for Homoeopathy/National Commission for Indian System of Medicine accredited hospitals providing Ayush services.

The Union Health Ministry has launched India's official portal for Medical Value Travel, which is the Advantage Healthcare India portal, Jadhav said.

It is a "one-stop" portal developed for the facilitation of information for those who want to avail medical treatment in India from abroad, the minister said.

Any international patient seeking medical care or wellness services in India can visit the Advantage Healthcare India portal by logging on to www.healinindia.gov.in, he said.

The government organized the Ayush Medical Value Travel Summit-2024 on September 30 in Mumbai, themed 'Global Synergy in Ayush: Transforming Health and Wellness through Medical Value Travel', to strengthen India's position in Medical Value Travel by integrating traditional Indian systems of medicine with modern healthcare systems.