Discuss the role of Ayush-based Medical Value Travel in positioning India as a global wellness hub. What quality and regulatory reforms are needed?

An RIS study released in September 2026 was the first to measure India's Ayush services economy. It put the sector at US$36.92 billion in FY2024-25, and Medical Value Travel (MVT), meaning foreign patients who come to India for treatment, earned US$1.77 billion of it [1]. MVT can make India a global wellness hub, but only if trust in quality grows along with it.

Role of Ayush MVT in building a wellness hub

• High-value revenue: foreign patients are about 5% of patient numbers but bring in 15–25% of hospital-segment revenue. Panchakarma and residential yoga stays last 5–11 days [1].
• Demand for preventive care: Ayush wellness is growing at a 21.29% CAGR [1]. India ranks 10th of 46 on the Medical Tourism Index [2].
• Easier entry: the Ayush Visa (AY for patients, AY-2 for attendants) was launched in line with Heal in India [3].
• Soft power: India hosts the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre in Jamnagar and has committed about US$250 million to it [4].
• Inclusive jobs: the sector supports 1.76 million livelihoods, and 43% of its workers are women [1].

Current gaps

• MVT is under 5% of sector revenue [1]. Only 361 Ayush visas had been issued by December 2024 [5].
• A Parliamentary committee flagged high metal content in some Ayush drugs [6].

Reforms needed

• Accreditation: NABH or ISO accreditation roughly doubles a provider's odds of attracting foreign patients, and a working website raises them 3.6 times [1]. Small clinics need support to get accredited. Providers should also adopt ISO 22525, the BIS-adopted standard for medical wellness tourism [2].
• Drug safety: bring in post-marketing surveillance (checking safety after a drug goes on sale), side-effect reporting and international-standard norms [6]. Reports from the 97-centre pharmacovigilance network must lead to timely action by state regulators [7].
• Honest advertising: settle the future of Rule 170, Drugs Rules, which controls misleading drug advertisements. The Supreme Court has stayed the government's move to remove it [8].
• Evidence base: add R&D as a component of the National Ayush Mission [6] and follow the WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034, which puts evidence and regulation first [9].
• Access and financing: more institutions should be accredited to issue the visa invitation letter [3]. Ayush insurance cover, now offered by about 27 insurers, should be widened [2].

Ayush MVT brings together economic growth, jobs and cultural diplomacy. Promoting its services while letting evidence and regulation decide what can be claimed and sold will build lasting trust in Indian wellness. That supports SDG 3 (good health and well-being) and Viksit Bharat @2047.