Al Jazeera report: Foreign patients in India have halved as visas for Bangladeshis have been reduced

Last Updated on January 6, 2025 5:54 am

The number of foreign patients in Indian hospitals has almost halved due to the reduction in visas for Bangladeshis, according to Al Jazeera.

The Indian embassy in Bangladesh has been operating visa operations on a limited basis for the past few months, with a few days off after the fall of the Awami League government. This has put Bangladeshi patients seeking treatment in Indian hospitals in trouble. India’s medical sector is also reeling from this visa hurdle.

A report published in Al Jazeera on Saturday said that usually about two million foreign patients seek treatment in various hospitals in India every year, 60 percent of whom are Bangladeshis. The number of Bangladeshi patients has decreased by 80 percent since August 5.

In other words, the number of foreign patients in these hospitals has almost halved.

Foreign patients who go to India for treatment also contribute significantly to the country’s economy. According to Al Jazeera, this ‘medical tourism’ sector is expected to contribute around $9 billion (Rs 77,189 crore) to India’s economy in 2023.

Al Jazeera, citing an official at the Indian Visa Centre in Bangladesh, said that before the fall of Sheikh Hasina, there were 7,000 daily online visa slots at India’s five visa centres in Bangladesh. Now this number has been reduced to 500.

Kolkata’s hospitals are suffering the most due to the decline in Bangladeshi patients.

Al Jazeera, citing the Indian media outlet The Print, said that 150 Bangladeshi patients used to receive treatment in the outpatient department of the 500-bed multi-specialty Peerless Hospital in Kolkata every day. This number has now come down to less than 30.

Alexander Thomas of the Healthcare Association of India told Al Jazeera that Narayana Health in Bengaluru, Apollo in Chennai and Christian Medical College (CMC) in Vellore are also being affected by the visa hurdle.