How the traditional medicine sector has opened up in India

Speaking at the inauguration of the Global Ayush Investment and Innovation Summit in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday announced that Ayush visas will be introduced for foreigners willing to come to India for traditional treatments. Since being formed on November 9, 2014, the Ayush ministry has received increasing support from the Centre in terms of budgetary allotments. And now, the decision to introduce Ayush visas is being viewed as a major step to boost medical tourism in India.

So how has the Centre’s flagship project worked so far?

​AYUSH stands for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy – the six Indian systems of medicine practiced in India and some other parts of South Asia.

Before being made into a separate ministry, the Department of Ayush operated under the ministry of health and family welfare.

The ministry has often come under fire from medical experts who have warned against mainstreaming “ayurvedic concoctions”.

However, budgetary allocation for the Ayush ministry has increased from Rs 1,272.15 in 2014-15 crore to Rs 3,050 crore in 2022-23. On Wednesday, PM Modi said the traditional medicine sector in India grew from less than $3 billion before 2014 to more than $18 billion now.

The Centre is also hopeful that a huge export market will open up across more than 150 countries.

The Himalayas are known for herbal plants, and the Ayush ministry believes it has tremendous scope for employment generation and providing sustainable income to farmers making a living in the rugged terrains. 

The government is also set to create a network of Ayush Parks to encourage research and boost indigenous manufacturing of traditional medicine products. 

The ministry is also working on establishing a digital portal to connect medicinal plant farmers with Ayush product manufacturers. 

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According to estimates, there are more than 4,000 Ayush hospitals in India with over 5.5 lakh medical staff. 

The traditional medicine market in India has grown by leaps and bounds even during the Covid-19 pandemic.