Perspectives on Ayush Sector: Innovations for Future Integrative Health Systems

TAs estimated,65% of the population in rural India uses traditional medicine to help meet their primary health care needs. There are 15 agro-climatic zones, 47,000 plant species, and 15,000 medicinal plants, including 7,000 Ayurvedic plants, 700 Unani plants, 600 Siddha plants, and 30 contemporary medicine plants in India, making India one of the world's 12 mega bio-diverse countries. WHO has also re-iterated that countries aiming to integrate the best of TM and conventional medicine would do well to tackle the unique health challenges of the 21st century.The growth of the Ayush system has been significant in the recent past. For instance, the Budget of M/o Ayush has increased from Rs. 1214.00 crores in 2015-16 to Rs. 3050.00 crores in 2022-23. In the last seven years, the total budget allocation to Ayush Ministry has increased over four times from 691 Cr to Rs 3050 Cr.[i] As per the Ayush in India 2019 report, Ayush colleges have increased from 495 colleges in 2010 to 735 colleges in 2019. The number of National Institutes under the Ministry of Ayush has also increased recently. All India Institute of Ayurveda, New Delhi, is one such example. Further, Institute for Post Graduate Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (IPGT&RA) has been upgraded to the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA) as an Institute of National Importance. The National Institute of Sowa Rigpa was established in Leh in 2020. The establishment of the Satellite Institute of the existing National Ayurveda, Unani, and Homoeopathy National Institute is ongoing at Goa and Panchkula for Ayurveda, Ghaziabad for Unani and Narella, New Delhi for Homeopathy.The market size of the AYUSH industry has grown around 17 percent from 2014 to 2020 with the increase in global and domestic demand[ii]. The number of Ayush dispensaries has increased from 24280 in 2011 to 29091 as of 01.04.2019. Still, there is a vast scope of opportunities and growth in the Ayush sector and integrating the Ayush system into public health. There is a requirement for innovations in Ayush areas to enable growth and address existing issues that hinders growth. This paper aims to highlight innovations required in the different potential areas of Ayush.