Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that his Government was fully committed to the promotion of Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine. Inaugurating the Vision Conclave organised as part of the five-day Global Ayurveda Festival at Kozhikode, Modi said that the real potential of Ayurveda was still untapped.
“We are committed to promoting the use of traditional medicines in our public health system through regulation of research and appropriate integration of quality products, practices and practitioners into the health system. Our efforts are to tap the real potential of Ayurveda and other AYUSH systems in imparting preventive and holistic healthcare to people,” he said.
Stating that India should learn from the experiences of other countries like China which had put in place policies and regulations for promoting their traditional systems of medicine, the Prime Minister said the country had the potential to become a leader in making affordable and holistic healthcare available to the world.
“Ayurveda today is globally relevant because of its holistic and comprehensive approach towards health. The Ayurvedic Dinacharya (daily schedule) helps in bringing about peace and harmony in one’s life. These Dinacharyas are meant to enhance the health of a human being, both mental and physical,” Modi said.
India had had a long tradition of saints and hermits who evolved the indigenous systems of healthcare like Ayurveda, the Prime Minister pointed out. However, the real potential of Ayurveda remained untapped because of inadequate scientific scrutiny and concerns regarding standards and quality, he said.
“If these issues are addressed properly, I am sure Ayurveda can provide solutions to many health problems,” Modi said, adding that steps were being taken to bring regulatory amendments for effective enforcement of regulatory framework for AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) drugs at Central and state levels.
In this regard, initiatives were being undertaken to create a vertical structure for AYUSH drugs in the Central Drug Standards Control Organization, he said. These steps also included control over misleading advertisements and extension of financial support to states under National AYUSH Mission to quality control activities, Modi informed.
The Prime Minister said entrepreneurs planning start-ups would find a lot of opportunities in holistic healthcare. “We will maximize utilization of Ayurveda and Yoga and other traditions of healing in accordance with their genius and acumen and help in the promotion of integrative medical facilities,” he said.