Ayush Mission Summit Charts Roadmap for Holistic Healthcare

RR Team

3 months ago

The Ministry of Ayush concluded a two-day summit on the National Ayush Mission and Capacity Building, setting new directions for integration, innovation, and institutional strengthening in the sector.

The summit, held at the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) in Sarita Vihar, brought together policymakers, state health officials, and sector experts from across the country. The event highlighted strategies to strengthen Ayush services nationwide, with a focus on collaboration between states and the Centre.

Inaugural Highlights

Union Minister of State for Ayush (Independent Charge) Shri Prataprao Jadhav inaugurated the summit on September 3 in the presence of Dr. V. K. Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, and Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of Ayush. In his remarks, Jadhav credited the National Ayush Mission (NAM) for expanding access to affordable, inclusive healthcare and unveiled two facilities at AIIA: a Project Management Unit to assist citizens with insurance claims and an Advanced Centre for Ayurveda Digital Learning and Communications.

Dr. Paul stressed on synergy between the National Health Mission (NHM) and NAM, underlining the need for collaborative action to boost national health outcomes.

Six Key Themes for Strengthening Ayush

The summit’s discussions revolved around six thematic areas:

Financial management and project monitoring
Integration with modern healthcare and public health programs
Human resource development and capacity building
Infrastructure and service delivery
Quality assurance of ASU&H medicines, branding, and packaging
IT-enabled digital services for Ayush

Vision for Viksit Bharat@2047

In the valedictory session, Secretary Rajesh Kotecha urged states to embrace large-scale behavioural change communication and promote lifestyle adoption rooted in Ayurveda through initiatives like Har Ghar AyurYog. Kotecha outlined priorities such as setting up 10 new AIIA-like institutes, fostering deeper collaboration with Ayush research councils, and strengthening state-level budgets in line with the 16th Finance Commission. India’s diversity, he noted, should be seen as a strength for developing scalable health models. Citing a National Sample Survey Office finding that 95% of citizens are aware of Ayush, he called on states to translate this awareness into concrete action through stronger infrastructure, partnerships, and innovation.

Recommendations and Expert Insights

Dr. A. Raghu, Deputy Director General (Ayush Vertical), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, summarized the recommendations, suggesting states establish dedicated Ayush departments to ensure sustained growth. Experts including Hoveyda Abbas (Ministry of Ayush), Dr. B.N. Gangadhar (former NMC Chairman), and Abhishek Singh (DG NIC) shared insights on finance, research, and digital transformation.

Industry leaders such as Shri Rajiv Vasudevan of AyurVAID Hospitals and Dr. J.L.N. Sastry of Dabur R&D emphasized innovation and collaboration with private players to build a robust Ayush ecosystem.

The summit ended with a collective pledge to strengthen the Ayush sector, reinforcing its central role in India’s preventive healthcare and wellness agenda. The focus on capacity building, quality enhancement, and integration is expected to accelerate progress toward the national goal of allocating 5% of GDP to health by 2047.