Yoga and Ayurveda have moved beyond their traditional wellness identity and are increasingly becoming part of India’s global health and diplomatic strategy, with the Centre seeking to expand their footprint through medical tourism, international education, practitioner mobility and trade agreements.
The shift is particularly evident in India’s recent trade diplomacy. These include measures to ease licensing, develop standards and facilitate the mobility of AYUSH practitioners and Yoga instructors. The India-Oman CEPA contains what the government describes as its first comprehensive commitment on traditional medicine across all modes of supply, while the India-New Zealand FTA has a dedicated ‘health and traditional medicine’ annex covering Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homoeopathy. Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Germany, Russia, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia are among the important markets for AYUSH and Ayurveda treatment. The absence of consolidated data makes it difficult to assess AYUSH’s actual share of India’s medical-value-travel market.
The India-Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), operationalised in June 2026, and the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) contain dedicated provisions on health-related services and traditional medicine. Comment | The growing relevance of traditional medicine “Foreign medical arrivals rose from 1.83 lakh in 2020 to 6.44 lakh in 2024, as per our data. However, the figure of 6.44 lakh refers to overall foreign medical arrivals and not specifically AYUSH patients.
The government does not publish a current consolidated country-wise ranking of AYUSH patients,” an official from the AYUSH Ministry said.
