Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal today said that Healthcare affordability is a key priority for the Government. Addressing the 22nd CII Annual Health Summit in New Delhi today, Mr Goyal pointed out that India’s healthcare sectorhas benefitted from the Government’s continued focus on affordability such as reducing GST on health and life insurance from 18 per cent to 0 per cent.

Mr. Goyal said, making healthcare affordable is a key priority for the government. He mentioned that duty cuts and GST reductions are helping citizens by lowering medical costs. He highlighted that India has a young and skilled workforce, especially nurses who are respected and in demand across the world. He urged hospitals to work together to train at least one lakh more nurses to meet the needs of both India and the growing medical tourism sector.

He also said hospitals should balance their services between Indian and international patients. He added that the ‘Heal in India’ initiative will succeed only if modern medicine is combined with India’s rich traditions of Ayurveda and holistic wellness, taking the country’s healthcare system to a higher level.