Market size of the Indian medical tourism sector is likely to more than double to Rs 10,800 crore by 2015 from Rs 4,500 crore at present, industry chamber Assocham today said in its study.
The inflow of medical tourists in India is also likely to cross 3.2 million by 2015 from the current level of 850,000, it said.
"Top notch healthcare facilities like cardiology, joint replacement, orthopedic surgery, transplants and urology at a low price are certain key factors making India a favoured destination in terms of medical tourism," the study said.
States like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and New Delhi are fast emerging as India's best medical centres with several hospitals and specialty clinics coming up in the cities, it said.
India is also offering other medical services like yoga, meditation and ayurveda, which is increasingly becoming popular as a non-surgical treatment for various ailments among the foreign patients.
The country attracts large number of medical tourists from West Asia, America, Europe and also from neighboring countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
However, it said that the country is facing tough competition in the sector from nations like Australia, Belgium, Greece, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and Thailand that are actively promoting healthcare tourism worldwide.
The study has proposed to develop 'Multi-Specialty Health City' on public-private partnership basis at 10 centres - Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kochi, New Delhi, Pudducherry and Pune.
"The proposal envisages setting up super-specialty hospitals in an eco-friendly atmosphere, with highly trained English-speaking healthcare professionals at affordable price," it added.
Both central and state governments need to play key role in setting up these centres.