In a move set to mark a milestone in the world of alternative medicine, “Ayurveda Day” is slated for November 10, coinciding with Dhanvantari Jayanti. This celebration is poised to take centre stage in nearly 100 countries around the globe. The Union Ayush Ministry has launched an ambitious mission to secure backing from various national ministries, underscoring the importance of this event and striving for its resounding success.
Currently, over 30 countries recognise Ayurveda as a traditional system of medicine. The celebration of Ayurveda Day across these 100 countries is part of the government’s plan to extend its reach to more corners of the world and provide recognition to this alternative medicine system.
An official from the Ministry stated, “The aim is to propagate and disseminate the ancient wisdom of India’s traditional system of medicine at the international level with the central theme of “Ayurveda for One Health”, which revolves around three key pillars: Ayurveda for students, Ayurveda for farmers, Ayurveda for public health”.
In this regard, the Union Ayush Ministry recently convened a meeting of various ministries to deliberate on a host of topics aimed at ensuring the successful organisation of the event.
Presiding over the meeting, Secretary of the Ministry of Ayush, Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, emphasised that, in line with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ayurveda Day should be organised as a national programme with the mutual cooperation and support of all the ministries of the country.
Ministries and departments such as Home, Culture, Foreign, Tribal, Water Resources, Science and Technology, and CSIR shared their views and underscored the importance of making Ayurveda Day a global celebration through the utilisation of digital technology and the mobilisation of various involvement activities. The Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Science (CCRAS), under the Ministry of Ayush, will serve as the coordinating agency for the Ayurveda Day programs in 2023.
On October 10, Union Ayush Minister Sarbananda Sonowal announced that the theme “Ayurveda for everyone every day” has been selected with a focus on promoting Agro-Ayurveda, enhancing health through empowering and encouraging self-participation, and inspiring professionals to harness the potential of Ayurveda. This encompasses a spectrum of areas, including sustainable agriculture, human, animal, plant, forest, and aquaculture health, as well as food safety.
Over the past eight years, the Modi Government has implemented a series of measures to boost Ayush, including Ayurveda. Kotecha informed that a total of 12,500 Ayush Health & Wellness Centres have been approved under the National Ayush Mission, with 8,095 of them already operational. Additionally, women and youth from rural areas across India are being provided training in Ayurveda courses and placed in positions at various wellness centres, thanks to the Central Government’s flagship Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has consistently advocated for the promotion of Ayurveda both domestically and on the global stage. During the 9th World Ayurveda Congress in Goa last December, he emphasised that yoga and Ayurveda have become sources of hope worldwide. He noted that while yoga is now celebrated globally at health and wellness events, Ayurveda has historically taught a “system of living and how to remain happy,” promoting the health of both body and mind in harmony.
The Prime Minister has said, “With an amalgamation of knowledge, science, and culture, our goal is to promote the concept of the ‘welfare of the world.’ Ayurveda serves as an effective medium for achieving this.”
He emphasised the need to establish evidence-based scientific mechanisms to strengthen the Ayurvedic system.
