Ministry of Ayush: The Ministry of Ayush has marked a significant milestone in the year 2023 by reaffirming the implementation of its vision and objectives on National and International levels. This year has witnessed the global dissemination and acceptance of Indian traditional medicine culture. Ayush has advanced to anew degree of international recognition and left several permanent footprints of success.
The visionary support and direction of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi translated well into Ayush’s efforts in the fields of healthcare infrastructure development, research collaborations, export promotion mechanisms, educational reforms, global expansion of the Indian traditional medicine system and more.
The first “Chintan Shivir” organised by Ministry of Ayush
Ministry of Ayush’s first “Chintan Shivir” (27th – 28th February 2023) was organised by Minister of Ayush at Kaziranga National Park, Assam and well attended by Ayush fraternity, Ministry officials, experts and other stakeholders of Ayush sector, saw deliberation on digital health and technology in Ayush, future initiatives, strategy, challenges and the way forward, Ayush education, capacity building, employment generation and NEP.
Sessions on current challenges and way forward in Ayush, Drug industries, services and standardization of Ayush products, Ayush in public health, challenges, way forward etc. were organised. Chintan Shivir ended with a presentation of reports with deliverables and a roadmap. The two day deliberation in Chintan Shivir provided a road map of actionable points for Ayush sector while clearly depicting future strategy, collaboration for further research and fostering Ayush infrastructure etc.
G20: Traditional Medicines Incorporated in Leaders’ Summit Declaration, New Delhi.
During the India’s Presidency 2023 of G20, the Ministry of Ayush actively participated in various activities throughout the year in different G20 group platforms, taking a whole government approach. It paved the way for the recognition and potential of scientific, evidence based Traditional Medicine Systems in holistic health care as envisioned in SDG 3 for Universal Health Coverage across G20 Nations.
The efforts of the Ministry of Ayush actualised in the inclusion of Traditional Medicine in the “Delhi Declaration” as adopted by G20 Nations in Leaders Summit on 9th-10 September 2023. The declaration recognized the potential of Traditional Medicine in addressing emerging health issues through holistic and evidence-based traditional medicine practices across the globe. For the Presidency of G20, India adopted the theme of “Vasudheva Kutumbkam”, thereby emphasising the holistic approach towards health as stated in the theme “One earth, One family, One future”.
The first SCO conference and expo generated trade interest of Rs. 590 crores
The first Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Conference & Expo (2nd -5th March 2023) on Traditional Medicine, organized in Guwahati, Assam saw an incremental trade interest generation of over ₹590 crores.
Under the aegis of the Ministry of Ayush, Invest India conducted B2B meetings at the event with the support of Ayushexcil (Ayush Export Promotion Council). More than 56 exhibitors and buyers from 19 countries discussed and expressed their interest in trade in traditional medicine. More than 50 one-to-one meetings between buyers and sellers were conducted during the conference. Over 75 meetings took place during the event, where participants from India, Tajikistan, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Bahrain & Sri Lanka engaged.
The trade interest of ₹590 crores was received in the B2B meetings from companies like Damaira Pharma, AIMIL Global, Herbal Strategi Homecare, Almaty, Dindayal Industries, Fidalgo Healthcare and many more. Multiple meetings between buyers &and sellers as delegates from 19 countries interacted with exhibitors at the Expo with interest in multiple product categories Participating countries like India, Tajikistan, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Bahrain, and Sri Lanka expressed their interest in traditional medicine trade.
International Day of Yoga: Unprecedented outreach, two Guinness World records, PM Shri Narendra Modi participated in an event at UN Headquarters, New York
On June 21, 2023, the 9th edition of International Day of Yoga 2023 was successfully celebrated on a much larger scale and witnessed new initiatives. The main National event at Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh saw the enthusiastic participation of more than 15,000 people, who participated in the Common Yoga Protocol (CYP) demonstration in the presence of Vice President of India, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the nation through a video message and said that “India’s culture and social structure, its spirituality and ideals, and its philosophy and vision have always nurtured traditions that unite, adopt and embrace.”
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi while touring United States of America participated in Common Yoga Protocol session at UN Head Quarter’s New York to mark IDY 2023. The event witnessed an overwhelming response from thousands of Yoga enthusiasts from over 135 nationalities, setting a Guinness World Record for participation by maximum number of nationalities in a Yoga session. A video message by UN Secretary-General Mr. Antonio Guterres was played as well.
IDY 2023 also witnessed another feather in the cap of IDY when Surat (Gujarat, India) made a Guinness world record for the largest gathering of people for a yoga session at one place. More than one lakh people took part in the event.
The highlight of 9th International Day of Yoga was the unique concept of the creation of the Ocean Ring of Yoga, which was envisaged as a coordinated yoga demonstration in which Indian naval ships stationed at different ports around the world and countries with which India has maritime cooperation and merchant shipping agreements participated in the CYP demonstration.
Nearly 3500 naval personnel onboard 19 Indian Naval ships travelled over 35,000 Km as ambassadors of Yoga in both national and international waters. This includes over 2400 personnel on 11 IN ships at foreign ports/international waters. Notably, IDY was celebrated onboard ships of several foreign Navies in concert with our overseas Missions, involving over 1200 foreign Navy personnel.
Yoga from Arctic to Antarctica was another facet of this year’s IDY where Yoga demonstration was organized in countries falling in and around Prime Meridian line and on North Pole and South Pole regions.For engaging with rural communities Ministry of Ayush had elaborately planned to spread message of “Har Aangan Yoga”. Yoga demonstrationswere organized at Panchayats, Anganwadi, Health and Wellness Centres, and schools, around 2 lakh common service centres, Ayush Gram Unit and location on Amrit Sarovar.
Gujarat Declaration: Another Milestone reached during the first ever Traditional Medicine Global Summit
First ever Global Summit on Traditional Medicine (17-18 August 2023) was organised by the World Health Organisation, and co-hosted by the Ministry of Ayush, in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The main outcomes of the global summit were released by the World Health Organisation in the form of Gujarat declaration. In the summit, WHO also shared the initial findings of the global survey on Traditional Medicine that indicates that the reach of Traditional Medicine is on the rise across the globe.“Gujarat Declaration” emphasised that the importance of Traditional Medicine is recognised for the attainment of universal health coverage and WHO’s commitment to work toward it through evidence generation and policy support to member states.
This event also saw “Health Ministers conclave of G20 Nations on Traditional Medicine”, on the sideline of G20 Health Ministers meet, whereby the G20 nations talked about role and prospects of Traditional Medicine in their respective countries.
Research Study: Mention of ‘Ayush Sectors’ in ‘Mann ki baat’ by PM contributed significantly to its growth
The Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) which works under the Ministry of Ayush, issued its 7th volume of research journal in April 2023. The research study clearly outlined the impact of “Mann Ki Baat” on various Ayush sectors and demonstrated that Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s mention of Ayush impacted Ayush sectors significantly. Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, secretary, Ministry of Ayush in his research paper published in the journal on the impact study of the Prime Minister’s Mann Ki Baat programme stated that out of 100 episodes of ‘Mann Ki Baat’the Prime Minister has mentioned ‘Ayush’ in 37 episodes.
The Prime Minister has urged citizens to adopt a healthy lifestyle, practice yoga, and adopt evidence-based Ayurveda and imbibe the Ayurveda way of life into their lifestyle. As a result of the Prime Minister’s efforts to promote the Ayush sector, there has been an increase in awareness about the benefits of traditional Indian systems of medicine.
Ayurveda gained unprecedented popularity as more than 100 countries observed Ayurveda Day
Ayurveda Day celebration on November 10, 2023, is a testament of the ever spreading and effective reach of Ayurveda across the globe as more than 100 countries celebrated Ayurveda Day in one form or another. The events organised pan India, along with the main event organised in Panchkula, Haryana saw massive participation and generated lot of enthusiasm among the masses.
On this occasion, the Ministry of Ayush, to strengthen the service delivery of the Ayush sector, launched Ayush Grid Project. The data recorded in the micro site, launched specifically as for Ayurveda day campaign, shows that about 20 crore people from all over the world cooperated in the month-long campaign in a total of 20 thousand activities. Around 17 lakh people participated; the micro site reached 102 countries and “Run for Ayurveda” was organized at 424 locations.
News of these events was published in regional and national media of about 80 countries. Bikers rally were also organised in 11 cities across the nation. People from all walks of life including women, youth, specially disabled etc. participated in the event.
The message of Ayurveda Day’s global campaign ‘Ayurveda for One Health\’ and the global theme of the G-20 meeting ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ have left an indelible impression on the whole world. Institutions like IIT, AIIMS, and CSIR have joined hands with Ayush to understand the molecular properties of Ayurvedic medicines. With the help of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation), mapping of medicinal plants, present across the country, is being done.
Project Collaboration Agreement of Ministry of Ayush with WHO
The Ministry of Ayush signed the Project Collaboration Agreement with WHO in the realm of traditional & complimentary medicine in the presence of Shri Indra Mani Pandey (Permanent Representative of India to the UN), Dr. Bruce Aylward (Assistant Director-General of the Universal Health Coverage and Life Course Division of WHO), Dr. Rudi Eggers, Dr. Kim Sungchol.
This pioneering alliance aims to propel the formulation of a global strategy, focusing on elevating the standards, quality, safety, and effectiveness of traditional and complementary medicines worldwide. Over the next 5 years, WHO & Ayush aspire to create a robust framework that not only preserves the rich heritage of Traditional Medicine but also propels it into a modern, evidence-based, and globally accepted form of healthcare holding the promise of advancing health outcomes.
Ayush Visa introduced: Boosting Medical value Travel
As announced by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in GAIIS 2022, the Ministry of Home Affairs notified Ayush Visa (category AY) for foreign nationals for treatment under Ayush System/Indian System of Medicines. The introduction of Ayush Visa introduces a special visa scheme for foreigners visiting India seeking treatment under Indian system of Medicines like therapeutic care, wellness, yoga etc. Ayush Visa will boost medical value travel and is intended to promote India as a medical value travel destination. Ministry of Ayush and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare are working together to develop a one-stop ‘Heal in India’ portal to promote India as a Medical Tourism destination of the world.
National Ayush Mission: Round the year activities saw Ayush benefiting 6.91 crore health seekers through AHWC’s
The flagship programme of National Ayush Mission witnessed far reaching impact in term of Ayush health care services and the first 10 months of the year 2023 saw 6.91 crore people getting benefits through Ayush Health and Wellness centres. To further strengthen the services, Ministry of Ayush organised regional review meetings across the six zones pan India. Government of India further augmented the mission by increasing the NAM budget by 50 percent.
Focus on North-east development:
Ministry of Ayush contributed significantly to accelerate the pace of socio-economic development of North-east region through its various schemes, infrastructure development, & various summits and conferences, Ayush Parv and Expo etc. To foster Ayush Infrastructure in the region in the year 2023 following measures were taken:
• 819 Ayush Health & Wellness Centres have been constructed or sanctioned
• Construction of more than 100 AYUSH pharmacies has been approved
• More than 50 AYUSH hospitals have been sanctioned
• Financial assistance was provided for the development of educational institutions
Ministry of Ayush also organized B2B conference under the Shanghai Corporation Organization (SCO) on traditional medicine from 2nd to 5th March 2023 in Guwahati, Assam. International Expo was organized on the sidelines of the main event, paving the way for International Collaborations and fostering trade ties.
Observation of Unani day
On 11 February 2023, Unani Day was celebrated at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. In the presence of Union Minister of Ayush Shri Sarbananda Sonowal a Mobile App developed by CCRUM on ‘Common Remedies in Unani Medicine’ was launched. The Minister also inaugurated an international conference on Unani medicine to commemorate Unani Day. An international conference souvenir on various publications of Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM) online journal was released.
World Homoeopathy Day
On April 10, 2023, a one-day Scientific Convention was organized by the Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy under the Ministry of Ayush to celebrate the occasion of World Homoeopathy Day in New Delhi. The theme of the convention was “Homoeo Parivar – Sarvajan Swasthya, One Health, One Family”. The convention aimed to promote evidence-based homoeopathic treatment for the health &and wellness of the entire family, capacity building of homoeopathic practitioners to provide homoeopathy as the first line of treatment and promote homoeopathy as a treatment of choice in households.
