Ayush

The size of the Ayush service sector in India has increased manifold & was projected at over ₹ 1,85,000 Cr  in 2022, making it almost equivalent in size, to the Ayush manufacturing sector. Wellness Travel & Medical Value Travel in Ayush are the fastest growing sub-segments within Ayush services.  Within health services’ export earnings too, Ayush ranks among the top five health services with total Medical Value Travel (MVT) in India projected at $13 Bn in 2022. More information about the same can be accessed here.

1. GAIIS- The first ever mega event of this scale in Ayush sector facilitated agreements with international and national institutions and various other sectors, fueling financial considerations, mutual research and increasing Ayush reach globally. The event, inaugurated by the Hon’ble PM, saw the participation of total audience/visitors: 25000+, foreign delegates: 70+, total MoUs signed (global & domestic)- 70+, and Letter of intents (LoIs) worth more than Rs.9000 crore  in major categories like FMCG, Medical Value Travel (Heal in India), Pharma, Technology & Diagnostic and Farmers & Agriculture.

2. World Ayurveda Congress- The event is held with an objective of providing a global platform for all the stakeholders, including industry leaders, practitioners, traditional healers, educationists, students, medicine manufacturers, growers of medicinal plants and marketing strategists, for networking and engaging in intellectual exchange to strengthen the Ayurveda sector, envision its future, and facilitate interaction between professionals and consumers to boost Ayurveda commerce. In its last edition, over 4500 participants from all over the world including 400 foreign delegates from 53 countries were participating in the 9th World Ayurveda Congress & Arogya Expo. The Arogya Expo is set to witness participation of more than 215 companies, leading Ayurveda brands, medicine manufacturers and Ayurveda related educational and Research & Development institutions.

3. Global Platforms-

• SCO (Shanghai Co-operative Organization): The Conference and Expo on Traditional Medicine is held to provide an opportunity for regulators, industries and business leaders in all the SCO and partner countries to deliberate on various aspects of Traditional Medicine, such as products, services, education, skill development, cosmetics and Policies. It further deepens the trade and friendship among each other in traditional medicine and allied field. More than 150 delegates from 17 countries, including India, participated in this event, including high-level delegates such as Health Ministers, official delegates, and foreign buyers from SCO & partner countries. In its first and latest edition held in 2023- an incremental trade interest of over ₹590 crores was generated during the two days of intense meetings among the buyers and sellers at the conference.
• G20: As part of Health Working Group, Ministry of Ayush has participated in various G20 events, including 4 main Health Working Group Events, and also across Startup 20, Civil 20, Science 20, Women 20 and Think 20 Engagement Groups, where Ayush industry was suitably provided a global platform for showcase and awareness generation. 

Ayush is a nascent sector and is a sunrise sector for India, with tremendous promise for the world. There are over 900 DPIIT-registered startups in the Ayush sector and over 53,000 MSMEs, comprising over 80% of the sector, indicating the vibrancy and extent of opportunity in the sector.

As India moves up in the global ease of business rankings ably supported by schemes such as ‘Make in India’ and ‘Startup India’, regulatory reforms such as 100% FDI and perpetual licensing, are expected to give further impetus to investor confidence in the sector. Tapping on this potential, State Industrial Policies have also included special incentives for promoting Ayush manufacturing.  The Ministry of Ayush experts are developing ISO standards in collaboration with the Bureau of Indian Standards. This will open a huge export market for Ayush in more than 150 countries. Further, initiatives such as the establishment of i-CAINE incubator under the All India Institute of Ayurveda, a push for standardization of products & services with a proposed Ayush Mark, Ayush Visa etc., will ably support the sector in times to come. 

• Cultivation: At the central level, programs for sustained supply of medicinal plants through cultivation/collection and market linkage in contract farming are being undertaken by NMPB, with the help and convergence with Ministry of Agriculture, and other GoI departments.  

• Focused Research & Development in Technology: R&D by research councils under the ministry, CSIR, ICAR and 14 forest research institutes are enabling agro technology on the medicinal plant sector. 

• Industry-Academia Partnerships: An investment friendly industry-academia partnership for transfer of technology (ToT) through research councils under the ministry is provided by the Ministry of Ayush to develop high value production along with world class R&D. 

• Research Ecosystem: Government research institutes like the Central Council of Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy (CCRYN), Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM), Central Council for Research in Siddha (CCRS) and Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH) have been developing and validating drugs and technologies in collaboration with reputed organizations like the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR).  

• IT Infrastructure: 

1. E-Aushadhi - a web-based application which has allowed digitization of the licensing process, as well as the Ayush Grid, a one-stop umbrella platform for all IT initiatives of Ayush.  
2. Ayush Grid - This nationwide umbrella digital platform for Ayush aims to bring all Ayush hospitals, research & academic institutions, and laboratories on board in digital healthcare 
3. Ayush HMIS (Hospital Management Information System) - The Ayush HMIS is a dedicated portal for Ayush Electronic Health Records (EHR), with the purpose of improving patient care, work efficiency, research, efficient management of hospital, documentation, and to collect the morbidities codes. 
4. NAMASTE (National Ayush Morbidity and Standardized Terminologies Electronic) Portal - NAMASTE has a provision to quote ICD-10 and ICD-11 along with Ayush morbidity code for reference, thereby employing a dual-code system. This dual code (ICD-10/11) system enhances the reporting of morbidity, helps with the easy integration of Ayush into insurance coverage and reimbursement systems - key steps in achieving universal health coverage. 

• Inter-Ministerial Initiatives: Ayush focused initiatives in the MSME space would include CART (Centre for Agro Rural Technology) Division for medicinal plant sector in rural areas and Ayush focused Technology centers. There are many other collaboration initiatives ranging from development of Ayush MSMEs (under an MoU with the Ministry of MSME), promotion of Ayush in public health initiatives, promotion of information, education, and communication in Ayush etc. 

• Regulatory Ease & Applicability: The country in collaboration with WHO, is developing standard terminology for ASU systems in line with the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 11 - Traditional Medicine Chapter 2, for its uniform applicability which will further enhance the usage & adaptation of Ayush at the domestic & international level. 

• Capacity building: This has been one of the key focus areas of the Ministry of Ayush, especially for MSMEs, and has been the key motive of the recent MoU between Ministry of Ayush & Ministry of MSME, which includes the need assessment and identification of Ayush Clusters, Procurement & Marketing Support Scheme for National/International trade fairs, exhibitions, packaging, E-Marketing and export and Incubation – Start-Up / Enterprise Development.