Mangal Prabhat Lodha, Minister of Tourism, Skills, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Women and Child Development, Government of Maharashtra, has asked the medical and travel fraternities to submit their suggestions to create a dedicated Medical Tourism Policy for the state.
Sharing insights, he said, “in India when Medical Tourism is discussed, it evokes emotional and religious reactions from the local population. However, one needs to understand when hospitals are set up, it entails huge infrastructure cost, and to drive value and keep the operations running with state of the art technology and retain medical specialists capital inflow is paramount to sustain the flow. This requires seriousness to drive the vertical. Guidelines provide a framework on the direction a Policy needs to take, therefore it is important that the industry puts forth on their inputs to drive this segment. ”
Lodha was addressing the audience at a Wellness & Medical Value Tourism Conclave organised by the Indian Chambers of Commerce (IMC) at their Mumbai headquarters yesterday.