The Indian healthcare sector has witnessed a significant growth in the past few years in terms of size as well as research and development activities (R&D). Industry reports suggest that about 150,000 medical tourist visit India every year and medical tourism in India is expected to bring revenue of USD 2 billion by 2012. Areas like cardiology, cancer treatment and organ transplants are the main drivers for growth in medical tourism in India. Also, leading Indian healthcare firms are expecting an 80% increase in the number of foreign patient arrivals this year. There would, therefore , be an urgent need to improve the quality of treatment. This would also incur the use of new and advanced equipments which would require a large capital outlay.
``As the investment in R&D is one of the major concern along with the infrastructure, it raises hopes of the healthcare sector getting the necessary attention in this budget 2012. Further, the Budget should also look forward for streamlining policies and tax holidays to boost healthcare facilities across the country i.e. in tier 2 and tier 3 cities,`` said Amit Mookim, Head, Healthcare, KPMG. Read more
Source : myiris.com
