In the Union Budget 2026-27, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a new scheme to support States in establishing five regional medical hubs in partnership with the private sector. This initiative aims to position India as a premier destination for medical value tourism and strengthen the regional healthcare ecosystem.

These hubs will function as comprehensive complexes combining medical services, education, and research under one roof.

Each hub will house AYUSH Centres, integrating traditional systems like Ayurveda with modern diagnostic and treatment facilities.

The centres will include Medical Value Tourism Facilitation Centres, advanced diagnostics, post-treatment care, and dedicated rehabilitation units.

The hubs are expected to create diverse job opportunities for doctors and Allied Healthcare Professionals (AHPs), with a parallel goal to add 1 lakh AHPs over the next five years.

The 2026-27 budget also introduced several related measures to bolster this infrastructure:

All India Institute of Ayurveda: Three new institutes will be established to meet growing global demand for traditional medicine.

Biopharma Shakti: A Rs. 10,000 crore programme launched to scale up domestic production of biologics and biosimilars.

Mental Health Upgrades: Establishment of NIMHANS-II in North India and upgrading existing mental health institutes in Ranchi and Tezpur to Regional Apex Institutions.

District Care: Provision to increase emergency and trauma care centers in district hospitals by approximately 50%.