Nagpur, Sep 23 The Ministry of Ayush on Wednesday celebrated the 11th Ayurveda Day here, with Union minister Prataprao Jadhav urging people to focus on maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
The national-level celebrations of the Ayurveda Day were held in Nagpur with ‘Ayurveda for a Healthier Tomorrow’ being this year’s theme, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) said in a release.
Ayush stands for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy.
The programme witnessed the unveiling of key reports and documents, including the one on the Ayush Services Sector and ‘Ayush Vision 2030’, along with the launch of the CCRAS-AGNI Web Portal. The event also featured scientific sessions on Ayurveda’s role in healthcare and public health, as well as the roadmap towards 2047.
On the occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message was read out during the programme.
In his message, PM Modi said that Ayurveda’s journey from tradition to knowledge, evidence and innovation will contribute to securing the health and well-being of future generations.
Addressing the gathering virtually, Union Minister of State, Ministry of AYUSH, Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav described Ayurveda as a key part of India’s health vision.
He said, “The first centre of health is not the hospital, but our home. The first basis of health is not medicine, but our lifestyle.”
Citing the principle – ‘To preserve the health of the healthy and to relieve the illness of the sick’, Jadhav said Ayurveda prioritises preserving health alongside treatment, an approach he called increasingly relevant amid rising lifestyle-related health concerns.
Jadhav cited the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre in Jamnagar, ITRA Jamnagar’s recognition as an Institute of National Importance, and the inclusion of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani in the WHO ICD-11 classification as key steps in internationalising traditional medicine.
He called for connecting tradition with knowledge, evidence and innovation, adding that Ayurveda Day should extend beyond an annual observance to drive wider public engagement on healthy living.
Secretary of the Ministry of Ayush, Rajesh Kotecha, stressed that the future of Ayurveda lies in connecting its knowledge tradition with scientific evidence, innovation and public health outcomes.
He called for the need to strengthen research, quality, safety and standardisation while promoting collaboration between Ayurveda and other healthcare systems.
Highlighting key developments, including the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre in Jamnagar, more than 43,000 research publications on the Ayush Research Portal, over 200 BIS standards and the Ayush Quality Mark, he said these efforts are aimed at making Ayush systems more scientific, evidence-based and globally relevant.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the programme, Kotecha said the Ayush sector was pegged at Rs 40,000 crore to Rs 50,000 crore 12 years ago, which now stood at Rs 6,50,000 crore.
The Ayush sector has grown tenfold and contributes about 1.5 per cent to India’s GDP, he said.
“Another interesting fact that came out in today’s publications is that the Ayush sector has been growing at about 17 per cent every year,” he said.
The Ayush sector is expanding and it appears that the current Rs 650,000 crore could reach about Rs 2,000,000 crore in the next five years, according to him.
It shows a very large economic trajectory for the Ayush sector. It is very useful for India’s development, for our soft power, and for global leadership in traditional medicine, he said.
(PTI News)
