In order to expand India as a hub for medical tourism services, the Union Budget 2026-27 has proposed a special programme to assist the States under which five Regional Medical Centres will be set up with private sector participation. These centres will serve as integrated healthcare service provider complexes providing medical, education and research facilities at one place.
Ayush Centres, Medical Tourism Facilitation Centres and special centres for screening, post-treatment and de-addiction will also be set up at these locations. All these centres will provide different employment opportunities to medical professionals, including doctors and allied healthcare professionals.
Further, The budget proposes to provide assistance to Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO) for increasing production of assistive devices, investment in research and development and AI integration.
"Union Budget 2026 is pushing medical value tourism from a “hospital visit” into a full-stack, globally benchmarked care experience. The five regional medical value tourism hubs can standardise patient journeys across diagnostics, treatment, post-care and rehabilitation, while easing pressure on metros by building credible capacity in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities."
Pankaj Chandna, Co-Founder, Vaidam Health
"This budget signals a clear intent to drive AI-powered inclusive growth, expand healthcare access through technology-enabled solutions, and elevate the quality of care across India."
Harshit Jain, MD, Founder and CEO, Doceree
"The proposal to support states in establishing regional medical hubs in partnership with the private sector will give a huge boost to India’s medical tourism industry and strengthen our potential to deliver quality services at scale. These hubs will integrate all medical services with diagnostics, treatment, rehabilitation, education and research under one hub."
Gautam Khanna, CEO, P.D. Hinduja Hospital & Medical Research Centre
