SPS Apollo Hospitals, for instance, has three patients from different countries. All of them are women who want a safe delivery with good post-operative care. There is Radya from Libya, Megha from Dubai and Anchal from Canada.

Says Gynaecologist Dr Vaneet Kaur, Senior Consultant and Co-ordinator at SPS Apollo Hospitals, says, “These three women got in touch with me through e-mail after they their friends or family members recommended treatment in India... Many NRIs do not want to deliver the child in India because they fear the babies will lose citizenship of their countries of residence. But these families do not have a hitch because they have permanent citizenships. All they want is a safe delivery”.

Meanwhile, Dr John Pramod, director of Christian Medical College and Hospital, says expertise, skill and world-class standards at economical costs attract foreign patients.

“We mostly get patients who need surgery and dentistry. Since they are aware of the standards followed in the hospital, not only NRIs but patients from countries like UK, USA and Canada also visit us,” says Dr Pramod.

Clinics, too, are not far behind. Says Dr Sukhbindar Singh Sibia of Sibia Medical Centre, “We get around five every month under medical tourism and the reasons for this are mixed. While the waiting period for some of the medical procedures is longer in Europe and the US, it is lesser in our country”.

“Besides, there are some procedures or therapies that have still not been introduced in some countries. For example, cytotron for arthritis is still not allowed in the USA and it will take a couple of years before the Food and Drugs Authority there approves it. We practice this particular therapy in India,” says Dr Sibia.

Dr Ashok Gupta of Department of Plastic Surgery at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, however, says medical tourism is still not a very regular phenomenon. DMCH reportedly receives a major chunk of patients from foreign shores.