New Delhi, Aug. 15 -- Given growing complaints, the Union health and family welfare ministry has firmed up standards for the $2.1 billion cosmetology market, according to data from India Brand Equity Foundation and Grand View Research, to standardize clinical care, enforce mandatory safety protocols, and ensure patient health safety that will also help in eliminating ghost clinics, according to a government official and documents reviewed by Mint.

India ranks among the world's top 10 aesthetic procedure markets by volume, behind hubs like the US, Brazil, South Korea and Germany, and is one of the fastest-growing in Asia-Pacific.

The new guidelines mandate that these clinics must be operated exclusively by dermatologists and plastic surg...