Punjab's potential

While most of India has whole heartedly embraced the medical tourism industry, some feel that there hasn’t been as big a push by the government to see it come to fruition in one of India’s most dynamic regions: Punjab.  Though extensive planning has been going on for over a year, health tourism hasn’t seen the type of success it has in cities and regions such as Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, and Hyderabad.  

 The Punjab government has yet to give permission for medical tourism, although doctors are busy getting their ISO-9001 accreditation, which is a set of standards and requirements that an organization needs to fulfill if it is to achieve customer satisfaction through consistent products and services which meet customer expectations.  

Dr B.S. Shah, Chairman of the Advisory Committee of Medical Tourism of the Indian Medial Association (IMA), said, “We have got my private clinic accredited and also DMC and Hero DMC Heart have got it.”  

In fact, 42 hospitals are awaiting patients, many of whom are NRIs (non-resident Indians) planning on coming to Punjab for treatment.  But, the full support from the government has yet to happen.    

Dr Gurmeet Singh Gill, IMA president, Punjab, said, “Though we will approach the government officials concerned to know about the latest developments, nothing as such is confirmed.  The role of the government is not yet specified and nothing is on papers yet.”  

This is contrary to many other states in India, in which the government plays a very active role in the promotion, marketing, and development of medical tourism and interconnected industries.  Still, Punjab is a region of India in which its epic history and colorful culture have been bringing adventurous tourists for years.   

A state in northwest India, Punjab borders Pakistan to the west, and Jammu and Kashmir to the north.  There are approximately 25 million people who call Punjab home.  Besides being home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations, some of India's best intellectuals, business people, athletes, artists, and military and political leaders come from the region state.  Punjabi culture is renowned for its tolerance, progressive and logical approach to life.  All of that makes it a very intriguing and exciting place to visit.   

Some estimates put the number of NRI Punjabis in the US at 2.3 million.  There is a growing trend of NRIs, most of which are still Indian citizens, returning to their native state, such as Punjab, for retirement.  This could be, in part, due to the fact that they are able to take the wealth they amassed in the U.S. back to India to live an extremely high quality of life.   

With a sizeable population of NRIs, cheaper health services than what one would find in the U.S., and no waiting lists as is the case in Canada and many European countries, Punjab has the potential to shine as a medical tourism destination.