From cutting edge surgeries and routine ones to traditional therapies like ayurveda and yoga for all-round wellness, the Indian healthcare system offers it all at a fraction of what it would cost in many countries. Little wonder then that India has emerged as a leading healthcare destination with thousands of \'medical tourists\' reaching its hospitals for complex surgeries and not-so-major treatments.

With some of the most skilled doctors in the world and the most modern medical equipment, hospitals, both government and privately owned, provide comprehensive packages at one-tenth of the cost anywhere abroad.

Industry estimates peg the market size of medical tourism in India, which is growing at over 25 percent annually, at over $2.5 billion with over 100,000 foreign patients coming to the country each year.

India\'s choice as a preferred destination for medical tourism has been helped by the government offering the special \'M\' visa to medical tourists - the visas are valid for a year and are issued for companions too.

India\'s efforts to promote medical tourism took off in late 2002, when the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) produced a study on the country\'s medical tourism sector, which outlined immense potential for the sector.

The following year, then Finance Minister Jaswant Singh urged measures such as improvements in airport infrastructure to ensure smooth arrival and departure of medical tourists.

Analysing the reasons for India\'s popularity as a medical destination, leading cardiac surgeon Naresh Trehan says India has the ability to provide the best in western and eastern healthcare systems.

\"People are skilled in India and there is no waiting queue for patients in the hospitals. India provides value for money and the cost of treatment is lower,\" added Trehan, Managing Director of Medanta-The Medicity hospital in Gurgaon, adjoining the Indian capital New Delhi.

There is almost no waiting time for surgeries in India, a boon for patients from countries like the US and Britain where the queues are long.

Though the maximum medical tourists to India are from the US, Africa is catching up fast. In 2011, for instance, more than 30,000 patients came from Kenya and about 10,000 from Tanzania.

Costs are a key factor

Stem cell transplant, a process by which new cells are introduced into damaged tissue in order to treat diseases or injuries, has shown promise in treating various kinds of diseases, including some cancers.

Outside India, a stem cell transplant could cost up to Rs.10 mln (approx $223,000) abroad, depending on the type of procedure, and the patient is asked to deposit the full amount before the procedure.

In India the same procedure in a private hospital would cost between Rs.100000 -200000 (approx $18,500-37,000) in private hospitals.

Canadian Doug Antoniak, who underwent a successful spinal surgery in 2007 in the south Indian city of Chennai, was amongst those who benefited.

Recounting his ordeal, he had said: \"I had two failed surgeries in Canada, but my pain didn\'t go. It was getting worse all the time.\"

The Apollo Hospital in Chennai came to his help.

The package was $40,000 for the surgery, airfare, five-star accommodation and 45-day after-care.

\"Had we gone to the US, it would have cost us $250,000. We got world-class medical care for a lot less. I will go to India in a minute,\" Antoniak\'s wife Cathy said.

Uniquely Indian treatments like ayurveda and yoga for rejuvenation and wellness are helping states like India\'s southern Kerala state, famed for its Kerala massages. According to a CII-McKinsey report, the medical tourism industry in Kerala is expected to be worth $4 billion by 2017.

There are other treatments too. Like a comprehensive rehab policy for \'narcotics-induced psychotics\'.

A recent group in New Delhi included people from the US, Canada, Oman as well as from Southeast Asia. The three-month work-up at the Tulasi Healthcare Centre includes intense group discussions after weeks of detoxification and psychiatric treatment and costs about $3,500-5,500.

\"In Bangkok, a 28-day treatment programme costs $10,000,\" Gorav Gupta, senior psychiatrist and the force behind Tulasi, told IANS.

With these competitive prices, growth is the only way to go. Though Thailand is at present dominating the medical tourism market in Asia followed by Singapore, India is expected to substantially increase its medical tourism share.

With the promise being shown by the medical tourism sector, hospitals are also cashing in on the trend sprucing up facilities available on their premises.

A full-fledged movie lounge, a spa, a gym and fast food outlets are just some of the facilities on offer for patients and their attendants at corporate hospitals in Indian cities.

The Gurgaon-based Fortis, for instance, has a huge shopping arcade, a bakery, a spa, gym, a host of fast food outlets and also a 36-seater movie theatre to screen free film shows for the patients and their attendants.

\"During long surgeries, the stressed out attendants of patients don\'t wish to leave the premises of the hospital and at that moment watching a movie or having some good food without having to step out can be a positive distraction,\" said Dilpreet Brar, regional director of Fortis Hospital in Gurgaon.

Then, Columbia Asia Hospital in Gurgaon has started its own chain of cafes rather

than giving space to an outsider. The sprawling Columbia Cafe at the Columbia Asia Hospital also conducts cooking classes and regular food festivals along with food promotion activities.

Get healthy, the Indian way, is what the medical fraternity and the government seem to be telling patients the world over. And many are listening.