Budget 2026: India to Set Up 5 Medical Hubs, Eco-Trails to Boost Tourism

While presenting the Budget in Parliament, the Finance Minister said, "To promote India as a medical tourism hub, I propose a scheme to support states to set up 5 regional hubs in the country."

The Minister proposed establishing five regional medical hubs in partnership with the private sector to position India as a global leader in medical value tourism. Key announcements include establishing three new All India Institutes of Ayurveda, upgrading the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre in Jamnagar, and launching a loan-linked subsidy scheme for veterinary infrastructure.

These hubs will offer integrated healthcare services, including modern hospital infrastructure, diagnostics, post-treatment care, rehabilitation, and AYUSH systems.

Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission aims to transform India's healthcare landscape. By integrating hospitals, diagnostics, AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy), and rehabilitation services, the scheme has multiple objectives -- Boost employment opportunities in healthcare, diagnostics, and wellness sectors; enhance healthcare infrastructure, including integrated hospitals and diagnostic centers; attract international patients seeking quality, affordable healthcare and wellness services; promote AYUSH services, focusing on preventive and alternative medicine and improve access to rehabilitation care for patients needing post-treatment support.

The Budget also highlighted eco-tourism and nature-based travel. Sitharaman added that the government will develop ecologically sustainable mountain and nature trails across several regions, including the Himalayas and the Western and Eastern Ghats, to boost trekking, hiking, and eco-tourism in the country.

"...We will develop ecologically sustainable mountain trails in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir, also in Araku Valley in Eastern Ghats and also Western Ghats. Turtle trails along key nesting sites in Odisha, Karnataka and Kerala will be developed...India has the potential and opportunity to offer world-class trekking and hiking experiences," she said.

In addition, special trails will be created for wildlife tourism. These include turtle trails along nesting sites in Odisha, Karnataka and Kerala, and bird-watching trails around Pulicat Lake.

The Union Budget placed tourism at the centre of its employment and growth strategy, highlighting its role in job creation, foreign exchange earnings and local economic development. The government outlined a mix of institution-building, skilling, digital documentation and eco-tourism initiatives to strengthen the sector across India.

"The tourism sector has the potential to play a large role in the employment generation, foreign exchange earnings and expanding the local economy," she said. To strengthen this effort, the government will establish a National Institute of Hospitality by upgrading the National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology.

Further, she announced a pilot scheme to train 10,000 tourist guides at 20 iconic destinations, along with plans to create a national digital platform to document India's important cultural, spiritual and heritage sites.

"I also propose a pilot scheme for upskilling 10,000 guides in 20 iconic tourist sites through a standardised, high-quality, 12-week training course in hybrid mode in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Management... A national destination digital knowledge grid will be established to digitally document all places of significance, cultural, spiritual and heritage," she further said.

The Union Budget placed strong focus on boosting the tourism sector, with proposals ranging from medical tourism hubs and eco-friendly travel trails to skill development, hospitality training and digital documentation of India's cultural and heritage destinations.

- ANI