India has built a strong pitch for medical tourism around one obvious advantage: cost. Treatment that can be prohibitively expensive in Western countries is often available in India at a fraction of the price. But Anand Mahindra believes that may no longer be enough. The Mahindra Group chairman has argued that India's next big opportunity in medical tourism will depend on something less tangible but equally important: trust. In a social media post, Mahindra said India needs to look beyond the procedure itself and focus on the entire experience of a medical traveller, from the moment they land at an airport until they leave the country.
His larger argument is simple. India should not try to become merely the cheapest destination for medical treatment. It should aim to become a destination where international patients feel they are in safe hands.
India has a cost advantage, but ranks only 10th
Mahindra said India's cost advantage over Western countries is "enormous" across almost every major medical procedure. Yet, according to the research he cited, India ranks only 10th globally as a medical tourism destination. Countries including Thailand, Turkey, Malaysia and Singapore are ahead of India. For Mahindra, that gap raises a bigger question. If price is such a strong advantage, why isn't India further ahead?
