India will soon introduce a special Ayush visa for foreigners who want to visit the country to receive alternative healthcare treatments, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday.

The Union Ayush ministry deals with ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha and homeopathy treatment.

Modi made the announcement at the Global Ayush Investment and Innovation Summit 2022 in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar.

The World Health Organization’s Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, India’s Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Ayush Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel were also present at the event.

Modi said that India was an attractive destination for healthcare tourism. He added that an Ayush visa would make it easier for people to access such therapies in India, according to The Indian Express.

The prime minister also said that the Centre will soon introduce an Ayush mark, which would certify the quality and efficacy of healthcare products. “Through this, people all over the world will be able recognise trustworthy products,” Modi said.

The prime minister said that the government has been taking “unprecedented efforts” in the past few years to promote the export of Ayush products.

“We are already witnessing unprecedented growth in the production of Ayush medicines, supplements and cosmetics,” he said. “In 2014, where the Ayush sector was less than $3 billion [Rs 22,874.38 crore], today it has increased to more than $18 billion [Rs 1,37,285.73 crore].”

The prime minister expressed confidence that there will soon be a unicorn company in the Ayush sector. A unicorn company is a startup with a valuation of more than $1 billion.