Budget 2026: Sitharaman proposes five regional medical hubs to promote medical tourism

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed setting up five regional medical hubs to promote medical tourism, alongside new Ayurveda institutes, upgraded Ayush facilities and expanded allied health training, while presenting the Union Budget 2026–27.

New Delhi: In a significant boost to the healthcare sector, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday proposed the creation of five regional medical hubs to boost medical value tourism in the country.

“To promote India as a medical tourism hub, I propose a scheme to support states to set up five regional hubs in the country,” she said while presenting the Union Budget 2026-27.

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These medical hubs will have Ayush centres, infrastructure for diagnostics, and post-care rehabilitation. These will also provide diverse job opportunities for medical service providers.

Presenting her ninth consecutive Union Budget, Sitharaman also announced the setting up of three new All India Institutes for Ayurveda, “to meet the global demand of Ayurveda”.

She noted that exporting quality Ayurveda products will help farmers who grow the herbs.

Further, the Finance Minister announced plans to upgrade Ayush pharmacies and drug testing labs. The WHO Traditional Medicine Centre at Jamnagar, Gujarat, will also be upgraded to “bolster evidence-based research on traditional medicine”.

The schemes announced under the second Kartavya — to fulfill aspirations of our people and build their capacity, making them strong partners in India’s path to prosperity — also push for upgrading existing institutions for allied health professionals, and establishing new AHPI institutions in both the public and private sectors.

These will “cover 10 selected disciplines, including optometry, radiology, anesthesia, OT technology, applied psychology, and behavioral health”, the Finance Minister said, adding that the government will add 1 lakh allied health professionals over the next five years.

“A strong care system covering geriatric and allied sectors will also be built”, Sitharaman said.

In addition, she proposed “a variety of the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) aligned programme to train, multiskilled care givers combining core care and allied skills such as wellness, yoga, and mediative assistive devices.”