In conversation with Editor Ankur Sharma, The News Strike, Rajeev Taneja, Founder of GlobalCare Health, highlights that India is steadily transitioning from being perceived as a low-cost healthcare destination to a value-driven global hub focused on clinical excellence, patient experience, and end-to-end care delivery. He notes that the shift is reflected in the scale of cross-border healthcare, with GlobalCare supporting patients from over 128 countries through a vast network of 150+ globally accredited hospital partners, managing thousands of treatment packages and patient cases every month. Taneja emphasizes that India’s growing strength lies not just in affordability but in delivering trusted outcomes, seamless access, and integrated patient journeys.
1. Do you think India is successfully transitioning from being seen as a low-cost destination to a value-driven healthcare hub?
India is clearly transitioning from being viewed as a low-cost destination to a value-driven healthcare hub. While affordability remains one of the key advantages, the focus today is increasingly on clinical excellence, patient experience, and end-to-end care delivery. The conversation is no longer only about cost arbitrage. It is about value-led care, stronger outcomes, trusted clinical pathways, and how seamlessly international patients can access treatment across the full journey. This is where GlobalCare plays an important role by enabling access to world-class care through a strong network of leading and globally accredited hospital partners, helping deliver high-quality outcomes alongside cost efficiency.
This shift is also reflected in the scale of cross-border care delivery. GlobalCare supports patients from 128+ countries seeking treatment in India, works with 150+ hospital partners across the globe, manages 850+ IPD cases per month, offers 7,500+ treatment packages every month, and serves 3,100+ patients every month. These numbers reflect how India is steadily evolving into a healthcare destination defined not just by affordability, but by trust, access, and value-driven care.
2. Do you see India becoming a hub not just for treatment, but also for healthcare innovation and production?
India is increasingly emerging not only as a global destination for treatment but also as a growing hub for healthcare innovation and production. The country’s strong pharmaceutical ecosystem, expanding MedTech sector, and rising investments in digital health are driving this shift. India is already one of the world’s largest suppliers of generic medicines and vaccines, and government initiatives such as “Make in India” and production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes are further strengthening domestic manufacturing in pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
At the same time, India’s rise is not limited to what it manufactures, but also to how it is helping shape modern cross-border care delivery. The increasing use of technology-enabled coordination, digital patient support, and integrated healthcare networks is creating stronger connections between international patients and high-quality care providers. This makes India relevant not only as a treatment destination, but also as an emerging hub in building more connected, scalable, and patient-centric healthcare ecosystems.
The expansion of local manufacturing of healthcare products due to programs such as “Make in India” is another example of how this shift has affected India’s healthcare industry. While challenges such as limited R&D depth in certain areas and infrastructure gaps remain, India’s combination of scale, talent, and cost efficiency is positioning it as a key player not only in delivering care but also in advancing healthcare innovation and production globally.
3. What are the biggest opportunities for India to strengthen its position as a global medical tourism leader?
India has significant potential for improving its standing as one of the world’s most prominent destinations for medical tourism because of its ability to offer both advanced clinical care and a broader recovery-led experience. Its healthcare system offers an integration of contemporary medicines with ancient Indian health systems, including Ayurveda and Yoga. Programs related to medical value travel launched by the government are building trust among global patients through quality and international benchmarking. Moreover, policies in terms of 100% FDI in medical infrastructure and financial incentives, among others, can play a key role in improving competitiveness.
Other initiatives, including medical visas and treatment insurance along with technological support, have been successful in ensuring access for international patients. One of the biggest opportunities now lies in strengthening the larger ecosystem around treatment through better hospital partnerships, smoother patient navigation, stronger care coordination, and improved continuity after discharge. India can further strengthen its leadership by building not just treatment capacity, but trusted medical value travel corridors that make the journey easier, more transparent, and more reassuring for global patients. This can pave the way for India to become a prominent healthcare destination for the world.
4. What challenges must the ecosystem address to sustain long-term growth in international patient inflow?
To sustain long-term growth in international patient inflow, India’s medical value travel ecosystem must evolve beyond strong clinical care alone and focus on building a more connected, dependable, and scalable cross-border healthcare network. The opportunity is no longer just about attracting patients to individual hospitals. It is about creating structured pathways that link source markets, referral channels, care coordinators, hospital partners, and post-treatment continuity into one integrated ecosystem.
One of the biggest challenges is the lack of consistency across this broader journey. Even when the clinical outcome is strong, gaps in coordination, communication, case handling, travel support, discharge planning, and follow-up can weaken overall trust in the system. As international patient movement grows, stronger alignment between hospitals, ecosystem partners, and on-ground support networks will be essential to ensure that access to care is not fragmented.
Long-term growth will depend on how effectively the sector can build trusted medical value travel corridors supported by transparent processes, ethical case management, stronger hospital collaboration, and continuity of care across borders. For India to strengthen its leadership sustainably, the focus must be on developing a healthcare ecosystem that is not only clinically advanced, but also better connected, more reliable, and easier for global patients and partners to navigate.
5. What key trends are likely to shape the medical tourism sector over the next 12–18 months?
These are some of the significant trends likely to impact the medical tourism industry. The emergence of value-based treatment where the patient is concerned about getting quality outcomes in addition to affordability is one of them. The implementation of telemedicine services and AI-powered care management is likely to improve the engagement of the patient with their treatment journey.
Another key trend is the growing demand for specialised treatments such as oncology care, cardiac surgeries, and advanced procedures, along with the rise of niche segments like dental care. Integrated care models, where treatment is combined with recovery and wellness programs, are also becoming more prominent.
At the same time, there is a clear shift toward end-to-end patient experience, with greater focus on seamless coordination across the entire treatment journey from pre-travel consultations to post-treatment follow-ups. The sector is also moving toward stronger governance, structured partnerships, and performance-driven collaborations, ensuring better quality, accountability, and outcomes. Additionally, digitally integrated healthcare systems, rather than standalone tools, are becoming essential to improve efficiency and patient trust. Over the next 12 to 18 months, the sector is likely to be shaped by platforms and care models that can combine clinical quality with coordinated patient navigation. In that sense, the future of medical value travel will be defined not only by where patients go for treatment, but by how effectively providers and ecosystem partners can deliver continuity, confidence, and a more connected cross-border care experience.
6. Do you anticipate any immediate disruptions or opportunities that stakeholders should prepare for?
Yes. One immediate disruption stakeholders should prepare for is the continued impact of geopolitical uncertainty, currency fluctuations, and travel disruptions, all of which can quickly affect patient movement across borders. At the same time, these challenges also create an opportunity for the sector to become more resilient by strengthening referral corridors, diversifying source markets, and building more responsive care coordination systems.
Another major opportunity lies in improving how international patient journeys are managed. Stakeholders that invest in digitally enabled coordination, stronger hospital partnerships, transparent communication, and post-treatment continuity will be better placed to build trust and long-term growth. In the near term, the differentiator will not be cost alone, but the ability to deliver a more connected, reliable, and patient-centric medical value travel experience.
