‘It is selling your body but more respectable than prostitution’

Dr Anoop Gupta is no longer just a doctor but a business negotiator too, securing deals for childless couples and surrogate mothers.

He believes more than half the 700 babies he has helped bring into the world through IVF have been with surrogate mothers and to couples from Britain.

He charges local couples less than foreigners but insists all surrogates are well looked after and happy with the money they receive.

"There is no stigma attached to these commercial deals," he said. "People want babies and people want to carry them for couples at a price. The deal is done.

"You know in some places like Bangkok, some women sell their bodies as a means of supporting their lifestyles.

"This is another way of selling the use of your body — but it is far more respectable and acceptable than prostitution. Welcome to a new, modern India."

When a woman walks into his Delhi IVF & Fertility Research Centre, he now says to himself: "How can I get this woman a baby?"

"Everything," he insisted, "is done with dignity and respect. The rewards are plentiful and privacy and health is maintained throughout, so it is a win-win situation for everybody."