Bangladesh fortifies India's medical tourism sector

Bangladesh was the largest foreign user of India's health services exports in 2015-16. Of the 460,000 inbound patients to Indian hospitals, more than 165,000 were from the neighbouring nation.

More than 58,000 medical visas were issued to Bangladeshi nationals in 2015-16. This bought $0.34 billion worth of services, a recent report by the Directorate-General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics showed.

Since 2016, Bangladesh has unseated the US as the origin of the highest number of foreign tourists, mostly due to medical tourism.

A new bus service between Kolkata and Dhaka and a rail link between Kolkata and the western city of Khulna in Bangladesh were inaugurated earlier this month during Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to the city. Such moves have helped people from Bangladesh come to India quicker.

Medical tourism from nations with higher average health costs or poor infrastructure stood at $620 million in 2016-17, more than $890 million in the last fiscal year.

After Bangladesh, the highest number of medical visas was allowed to Afghanistan (29,400), followed by Iraq (9139) and Nigeria (5994).

The highest average spending was by Pakistan. Each patient spent about $2,906. A total of 1,921 Pakistani nationals were issued medical visas, a mere 1.35 per cent of all incoming patients.

Besides medical tourism, the report listed contract research and telemedicine as promising areas, while clinical trials were still a small market. Orthopaedics, cardiology and neurology were among the top draws for foreign patients.

The commerce ministry has repeatedly pitched for an improved mechanism to collect data in services trade, compiled by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). 

Exporters and industry members have complained of a lack of cohesion between the ministry and the RBI.

"Since India does not have a centralised business register, the DGCI&S undertook a separate exercise in collaboration with the Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organisations to collect basic information such 

as contact details and the type of healthcare services provided, among others," Commerce Secretary Rita Teotia said.

India's services exports increased to $155 billion in 2015 from $52 billion in 2005, with a share of 3.3 per cent in global services exports. 

In the first 11 months of 2016-17, services exports grew 3 per cent at $146.5 billion. Information Technology and software services contribute over 48 per cent to the country's overall services exports.