The 7th Ayurveda Day was celebrated on
Sunday (October 23) on a magnificent scale in the country and at the international
level. The theme was “Har Din Har Ghar Ayurveda’, aimed at propagating the benefits
of the traditional Indian healthcare system to a larger and grass root
community.
The six-week-long celebration saw over
5000 events being organized by the Ayush Ministry institutes/councils with the support
of over 26 ministries of the Government of India and the Ministry of
External Affairs India missions and embassies.
The dignitaries present
at the event included Arjun Munda, Minister of Tribal Affairs; Sarbananda
Sonowal, Minister of Ayush; Meenakshi Lekhi, Minister of State of External
Affairs & Culture; Dr. Munjpara Mahendrabhai Kalubhai, MoS Ayush; Vaidya
Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary MoA; Anil Kumar Jha, Secretary, Ministry of Tribal
Affairs, Pramod Kumar Pathak, Special Secretary, MoA and Prof. Tanuja
Manoj Nesari, Director, AIIA, along with the representative of foreign
embassies and WHO-SEARO.
“Ayurveda is a science
of disease prevention. It’s an ancient knowledge and our research councils are
doing some impressive research work in the Ayush sector,” Sarbananda Sonowal said.
“The aim of “Har
Din Har Ghar” campaign is to take Ayurveda and its potential to the masses.
Ayurveda is now known globally, and this is because of the continuous and
untiring efforts of prime minister Narendra Modi,” he added.
“Ayurveda is India’s ancient
tradition and wealth. Ayurveda can be nurtured in association with the people
living in the forests. The only medical science that talks about the prevention of disease is Ayurveda,” Arjun Munda said.
Dr. Munjpara Mahendrabhai
Kalubhai said the Ministry of Ayush has accelerated the Ayush system of health
in the country and Ayurveda is now recognized in 30 countries. He further
informed that the current turnover of Ayush is USD 18.1 billion.
“It’s time to appreciate the
science of our ancestors. A science that is over 5000 years old is
celebrated on the occasion of Ayurveda day under the supervision of our Prime
Minister Narendra Modi. He always promoted the science of Ayurveda and in the last
few years, it has reached its peak,” Meenakshi Lekhi said.
Prof. Tanuja Nesari informed the ‘I support Ayurveda’ campaign got enormous support from all, as over
1.7 crore people took part and over 56 lakh contributed to various
activities organized by different institutions based on Ayurveda Day in the six-week
long program.
A Memorandum of understanding
was signed between the Ayush Ministry and the Tribal Affairs Ministry to
explore the areas of collaboration, convergence, and synergy for tribal
development while preserving the tribal cultural heritage through evidence-based
planning and capacity building.
On the occasion, a book on India’s
Ayurvedic pharmacopeia, ‘The Ayurvedic formulary of India’ was released. The
Ayush Ministry launched a species-specific national campaign on ‘Ashwagandha –
A health promoter’ to create awareness about the health benefits of medicinal
plants. The Union Ayush ministry and other dignitaries felicitated the first-prize winners of five short video competitions.
