Indian medical tourism hit by Bangladesh visa ban: Apollo Hospitals | Latest News Delhi

The Indian medical tourism industry has been impacted following the ban on Bangladeshi visas, with a noticeable drop in the number of patients seeking treatment in India, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise joint managing director Sangita Reddy said on Friday. She was speaking at the 12th edition of the International Health Dialogue 2025. 

Reddy noted the need for a liberal visa policy for overseas patients to boost medical tourism. “If you look at neighbouring countries like Thailand, Turkey, the Philippines, and Singapore, they offer visa-on-arrival facilities for medical tourists. We are requesting the government to enhance the ease of patient entry, speed up the visa process, and promote medical tourism in India,” she added.

Apollo Hospitals said that they aim to collaborate with the government’s “Heal in India” initiative, which seeks to make India a global leader in medical and traditional healthcare. India attracts medical tourists from the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and multiple Asian and African nations. 

Meanwhile, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise executive vice chairperson Preetha Reddy highlighted the need for medical education reforms. “We are focusing on upskilling undergraduate doctors since the number of postgraduate seats is limited. We are collaborating with different stakeholders to create training modules to make them highly skilled clinicians,” she added.

Union minister JP Nadda, also present at the event, noted that out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure in India has dropped from 64.2% to 39.4% over the past decade. He said that India is poised to lead a global healthcare transformation. 

Separately, Apollo Hospitals has announced plans to add 3,000 beds across its network in the next five years, with an investment of ₹6,000 crore.