India has the potential to attract one million health tourists every year and this will contribute up to $5 billion to the economy, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said.
India must leverage its competitive edge, especially its cost advantage, to attract a large number of medical tourists to the country, the CII study report said.


A heart surgery in the U.S. costs $30,000 while the same would incur $6,000 in India. Similarly, bone marrow transplant in the U.S. costs $250,000 while it is $26,000 in India, said the CII report.


It's India's turn to get rich by caring for the world's sick and needy. A Rs 10,000 crore opportunity in 'medical tourism' lies in wait for up market hospitals in exotic locations around the country, a report from CII and McKinsey says.

In a break from tradition, CII and McKinsey do not limit this potential revenue-earning to bio-medicine or naturopathy. Says Dr Naresh Trehan, chairman of CII's National Healthcare Committee, ''Compared with most developed countries such as the UK or the US, treatments like those for dental problems or major procedures like bypass surgery or angioplasty in India come at a fraction of the costs elsewhere.'' Cardiac Surgery in India, for instance, costs one-tenth of the bills many foot for a similar procedure in North America.