With a shift in focus from ‘curative’ to ‘wellness’ treatment,
the importance of holistic and integrated medicine systems for overall wellness
and health of the people has been recognised world-wide, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi said on Friday.
He was speaking while dedicating to the nation two
future-ready national premier Ayurveda institutions — Institute of Teaching
& Research in Ayurveda (ITRA), Jamnagar as an Institution of National
Importance (INI), and the National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA), Jaipur as a
Deemed to be University by the University Grants Commission, to mark
celebration of the 5th Ayurveda Day.
“…India’s traditional systems of medicine have amply
demonstrated to the world the power of Ayurveda. It is now important to develop
scientific evidence-based research structures to integrate with the modern
knowledge repositories to move ahead in the 21st century. Integrative medicine
is the need of the hour. While India has been known as Pharmacy of the World,
with evidence-based research, we can take traditional medicine systems and
Ayurveda to new heights,” the prime minister said.
Modi pointed out that during the Corona period the demand for
Ayurvedic products has increased rapidly all over the world. He said exports of
Ayurvedic products increased by about 45 per cent in September this year
compared to the previous year. He added the significant increase in export of
spices like turmeric, ginger, considered as immunity boosters shows the sudden
boost in confidence in Ayurvedic solutions and Indian spices across the world.
He said that during the Corona period, the focus is not only limited to the use
of Ayurveda alone but to advance research related to AYUSH in the country and
the world.
The Prime Minister emphasized that Ayurveda is not an option
anymore, but forms a fundamental pillar of the country’s national health policy
and health interventions. He urged the private sector and the start-ups
industry to study the global demand for Ayurveda globally, and to become
champions for ‘VocalForLocal” across the world with their new developments in
this field. “We shall become the ones to herald a change in the health and
wellness sector across the world,” he stated.
Stressing on the importance of wellness, the Prime Minister
mentioned about establishing 1.5 lakh Health &Wellness Centres across the
country as part of the Ayushman Bharat
yojana. Of these, 12,500 centres will be AYUSH Wellness centers with focus
on integrative medicine systems.
Director General of World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus gave a video message on the occasion and praised the
Prime Minister’s commitment to the universal coverage under Ayushman Bharat and evidence-based
promotion of traditional medicines to achieve health related objectives. He
announced the setting up of the Global Centre of Traditional Medicine in India.
Dr Tedros said Ayurveda is an Indian heritage and it is a matter of happiness
that India’s traditional knowledge is enriching other countries also.
Ministry of AYUSH has been observing ‘Ayurveda Day’ every year
on the occasion of Dhanwantari Jayanti (Dhanteras) since 2016.
