Health ministry to streamline the quality of education in traditional medicine during the 12th Plan period.

Updated on: Saturday, October 13, 2012

Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday said that the Department of Ayush, under his ministry, would strive to streamline the quality of education in traditional medicine during the 12th Plan period.

Mainstreaming of Ayush has been adopted as one of the core strategies under the National Rural Health Mission to augment effective provisioning of health care services, he said.

"We have a surplus of doctors in Ayurveda and dental while there is shortage of MBBS doctors, specialists, super-specialists and nurses. The absorption rate of Ayush doctors is not even five per cent," Azad said after inaugurating a health fair here.

The union government had set up Department of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy in March 1995 which was re-named as Department of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) in November, 2003.

Azad noted that there has been a 'tremendous resurgence' of people's interest in Ayush systems of medicine not only in India but also in many parts of the world, including Europe and the US.

"We have 504 Ayush educational institutions, including 111 post-graduate colleges, where about 27,000 students are admitted every year. More and more foreign students are coming to India to study Ayurveda and Yoga, reflecting the increased global interest towards Ayush," he pointed out.

India has also signed memorandum of understanding for bilateral co-operation in traditional medicine besides setting up Ayurveda chairs and Ayush information centres in countries like South Africa, Malaysia, Trinidad and Tobago, he said.

There was a surplus of about 5-6 lakh Ayurvedic and Unani doctors while another 4,000 doctors add up every year. The emphasis would, hence, be on improving quality of education rather than quantity, he observed.

"Focus will also be on research in Indian traditional medicine as foreigners are questioning the efficacy of our systems. A major challenge before Ayush is establishing safety and efficacy of products on scientific lines in commercial production. We have set up Pharmacopoeia Commission of Indian Medicine in this regard," the minister said.

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