Year End Review of AYUSH Ministry

• Context (PIB): Initiatives of the Ministry of Ayush for the year 2023 were discussed.

Year End Recap of the Ministry of Ayush

Inclusion of Traditional Medicine in G-20 New Delhi Leaders Declaration

• Ministry of Ayush’s active participation in G20 lead to the mention of “Recognize the potential role of evidence-based Traditional and Complementary Medicine in health, and take note of international efforts in this direction, including WHO’s global and collaborating centres, and clinical trial registries.”

Dedicated vertical for Ayush at BIS

• The Bureau of Indian Standards has created a dedicated vertical for Ayush at BIS.
• A dedicated Working Group for standardization in the field of Ayurveda Informatics has been created to formulate International Standards on Ayush Informatics.

WHO-Global Summit on Traditional Medicine & Gujarat Declaration

•  1^st ever Global Summit on Traditional Medicine (August 2023) was organized by the World Health Organisation, and co-hosted by the Ministry of Ayush, in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
• Gujarat Declaration emphasized that the importance of Traditional Medicine is recognized for the attainment of universal health coverage and WHO’s commitment to work toward it through evidence generation and policy support to member states.

Ayush Visa

• It introduces a special visa scheme for foreigners visiting India seeking treatment under the Indian system of Medicines like therapeutic care, wellness, yoga, etc.
• It boosts medical value travel and is intended to promote India as a medical value travel destination.
• Ministry of Ayush and the 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.
• Ministry of Ayush and India Tourism Development Corporation signed an MoU in January 2023 to work together for the promotion of Medical Value Travel in the Ayush sector.

SMART (Scope for Mainstreaming Ayurveda Research in Teaching Professionals) Program

• Launched by the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) and Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS).
• Objective: Regulating medical education and conducting scientific research, boost scientific research in priority healthcare research areas through Ayurveda colleges and hospitals.

Project Collaboration Agreement

• The Ministry of Ayush signed an agreement with WHO.
• Objective: To propel the formulation of a global strategy, focusing on elevating the standards, quality, safety, and effectiveness of traditional and complementary medicines over the next 5 years.

Chintan Shivir

• It provided a roadmap for Ayush’s future, focusing on digital health, strategy, challenges, and collaboration, reinforcing its commitment to growth.