India to Rollout AYUSH Visa and AYUSH Mark to Boost Traditional Medicine: PM Modi

Gandhinagar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said India will soon roll out the AYUSH visa category for those who come to the country seeking traditional ways of treatment. He said the government will launch the AYUSH mark to recognise traditional products which will give authenticity to quality AYUSH products of the country. 

Addressing the gathering of Global AYUSH Investment and Innovation Summit at Mahatma Mandir convention centre in Gandhinagar, he said the AYUSH mark will give confidence to the people of the world that they are purchasing quality AYUSH products.

Describing the strides made by the Ayush sector, PM Modi said, "We are already witnessing unprecedented growth in the production of AYUSH medicines, supplements and cosmetics. In 2014, where the AYUSH sector was less than $3 billion, today it has increased to more than $18 billion.” He said that the Ministry of AYUSH has taken several major steps to encourage startup culture in the field of Traditional Medicines. 

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A few days back, an incubation centre developed by All India Institute of Ayurveda was set up, PM Modi informed. Describing the current age, the era of unicorns, the Prime Minister stated that in the year 2022 itself, so far 14 start-ups from India had joined the Unicorn Club. He hoped that unicorns would emerge from our AYUSH start-ups soon. 

Noting that the production of medicinal plants can be a good means of increasing the income and livelihood of the farmers and the scope of employment generation in this, PM Modi highlighted the importance of a facility to easily connect with the market for the farmers involved in the production of medicinal plants. For this, the government is also working on modernization and expansion of AYUSH e-market place, he said. “India is a treasure trove of herbal plants, it is, in a way, our 'Green Gold', asserted PM Modi.

India’s AYUSH sector is growing rapidly. This is the ideal time to invest in this sector! pic.twitter.com/Ecgqhv5MqH

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 20, 2022

The Prime Minister described the unprecedented efforts made in the past years to promote the export of AYUSH products. Emphasis has been laid on mutual recognition of AYUSH drugs with other countries. For this, more than 50 MoUs with different countries in the last few years have been formalised, he said. 

“Our 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,” he added.

Modi also informed that FSSAI has announced a new category named 'AYUSH Aahar' in its regulations last week. This will greatly facilitate the producers of herbal nutritional supplements. Similarly, India is also going to make a special AYUSH mark. This mark will be applied to the highest quality AYUSH products made in India. This AYUSH mark will be equipped with the provisions of modern technology. “This will give people all over the world the confidence of quality AYUSH products,”stated PM Modi.

The Prime Minister announced that the government will develop a network of AYUSH parks to encourage the promotion, research and manufacturing of AYUSH products across the country. These Ayush Parks are expected to give new direction to Ayush Manufacturing in India.

Continuing on the potential of traditional medicine, the Prime Minister noted the role of traditional medicines in increasing the tourism of Kerala. “This potential is there in every corner of India. 'Heal in India' can become a big brand of this decade” he said. Wellness centres based on Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha etc. can be very popular, he said. 

To promote this further, the PM said, the government is taking another initiative for foreign nationals who want to come to India to take advantage of AYUSH therapy. “Very soon, India is going to introduce a special AYUSH visa category. This will facilitate people to travel to India for AYUSH therapy,” declared the Prime Minister.

Come to ‘Heal in India!’ pic.twitter.com/BpWiFtklrc

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 20, 2022

PM Modi also narrated the Ayurveda success story of Former Prime Minister of Kenya, Raila Odinga’s daughter Rosemary Odinga regaining her eyesight after Ayush treatment. Rosemary Odinga was present in the audience and the Prime Minister introduced her as the gathering gave her a thunderous applause. 

Today’s AYUSH Summit was made even more special by the participation of Rosemary Odinga, the daughter of my friend and former Kenyan PM @RailaOdinga. The Odinga family has personally experienced the benefits of traditional medicine systems. pic.twitter.com/l1DucPq66Z

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 20, 2022

He continued that India of the 21st century wants to move ahead by sharing its experiences and its knowledge with the world. “Our heritage is like a legacy to the entire humanity,”he said. The Prime Minister stressed that one of the main reasons behind the prosperity of Ayurveda has been its open source model. 

Comparing this with the open-source movement in the IT sector, the Prime Minister emphasised that Ayurveda tradition went from strength to strength by sharing knowledge. He stressed the need to work with the same spirit of open-source taking inspiration from our ancestors. He hoped that the Amrit Kaal of the next 25 year would prove to be the golden period of traditional medicines.