Divide & Rule: The AYUSH way

The British policy of 'Divide & Rule' seems to have crept into the medical system as the NDA government is hell-bent on showering its largess on AYUSH practitioners at the cost of those following allopathy stream of medicine.


For good or for worse, it's always the allopathy stream that's always in the news for wrong reasons - whether it's fleecing of patients by corporate hospitals, or capping of stents, drug prices, violence against doctors and so on.

In fact, a perception has developed that shows that the regulatory system always seem to be working against allopathy doctors.






The latest snubbing has come National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill that proposes arming AYUSH doctors to prescribe modern medicine legally upon passing a bridge course.

This is an ingenious way of cultivating a vote bank in the medical profession as those likely to benefit may swing their loyalty towards a political party.

It's no secret that AYUSH practitioners do practice modern medicine illegally but NMC would legalize their clandestine methods.

If one looks at the number of steps taken by the AYUSH ministry in 2017, there is a clear trend visible that shows the government had consciously opted for favoritism but one thing that's clear is that government too believes that allopathy is best.

That's the reason why it wants them to come over to allopathy through the backdoor.

National AYUSH Mission (NAM):

The Union Cabinet has approved the continuation of National AYUSH Mission (NAM) as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme from 1st April, 2017 to 31st March, 2020 with financial outlay of Rs.2400.00 Crore. The Mission was launched on September 2014 for promotion of AYUSH healthcare in the country.

Under Mainstreaming of AYUSH component, 8994 PHCs, 2871 CHCs and 506 District Hospitals have been co-located with AYUSH facilities. Under NAM, Ministry  intends to set up fifty bedded hospitals in all the districts in next 10 years. So far 66 fifty bedded integrated AYUSH hospitals and 992 yoga wellness centres have been assisted. An amount of Rs Rs. 490 Crores for the year 2017 18 has been released to various States/UTs under NAM.

 National Ayurveda Day Celebration:

The first ever All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) is set up along the lines of AIIMS.

Ministry celebrated 2nd National Ayurveda Day with the following events:-

1. Organized Conference on 16th October, 2017 at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi to bring all Stake holders of Ayurveda Sector and create a platform for constructive discussion on the road map to triple the Industry’s potential in just five year time.
2. Organized the Ayurveda Conclave Vision 2022- Taking of Ayurveda Sector from $2.5 Billion to $ 8 Billion Industry.
3. All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), SaritaVihar, New Delhi dedicated to the Nation by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 17th October, 2017.

Financial assistance has been provided for 23 Health Melas and 10 Seminars/Workshops

International AROGYA 2017:

Ministry of AYUSH in collaboration with Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry; Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Pharmexcil organized the ‘International AROGYA 2017’ – First Edition of International Exhibition and Conference on AYUSH and Wellness on the theme ‘Enhancing the export potential of AYUSH’ during 4-7 Dec. 2017. The event was attended by International Ayurveda Experts/ Academicians/ Scientists/ Regulators/ Manufacturers. During the International Conference and Regulators Meet, important topics relating to standardization and quality control in AYUSH sector; enhancing the export potential of AYUSH and business opportunities; and integrative healthcare, etc. were extensively deliberated.

BIMSTEC Task Force on Traditional Medicine:

1st Meeting of BIMSTEC Task Force on Traditional Medicine in India was organised by the Ministry of AYUSH during 24-25 October, 2017 at New Delhi, wherein delegations from the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, the Kingdom of Bhutan, the Republic of India, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Kingdom of Thailand along with the BIMSTEC Secretariat participated.

International Cooperation:

Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs)-  Federal level MoU signed with 11 countries and Institute level MoUs signed with 24 Countries so far. 28 AYUSH Information Cells have been set up in 25 countries so far.

Three MoUs were signed by the Central Council for Research In Homoeopathy, an autonomous body under Ministry of AYUSH with:

1. Scientific Society for Homoeopathy (WissHom), Germany for cooperation in the field of research and education in Homoeopathic Medicine
2. Federal University of Rio De Janerio- UFRJ for cooperation in the field of Research and Education.
3. Institute for the History of Medicine, Robert Bosch Foundation, Stuttgart, Germany for cooperation in the field of development of museum on AYUSH system and   archives on homoeopathy.

The Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) between the Federal Ministry of Health of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Ministry of AYUSH of the Republic of India regarding cooperation in the sector of Alternative Medicine was signed during 4th Indo-German Intergovernmental Consultations (IGC) at Berlin on 1st June 2017.

The High Commission of India in Singapore organized a Symposium cum Seminar on the theme “Preventive Health Care and Immunity Betterment – The Ayurvedic Way” as a part of celebration of 3rd International Day of Yoga on 21st June 2017 in Singapore in collaboration with Ayurvedic Practitioners Association of Singapore (APAS).

Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY) and Institute of Post Graduate Teaching & Research In Ayurveda (IPGTRA) have been redesignated as WHO Collaborative Centres in Traditional Medicine under WHO’s reference number WHO CC No. IND-118 and WHO CC No. IND-117.

An MOU has been signed between CCRAS & University of Debrecen, Hungry on 01st October, 2017 for establishment of European Institute of Ayurvedic Sciences (EAIS).

A Homoeopathy Chair has been deputed at the Yerevan State Medical University, Armenia consequent to signing of MoU between CCRH and Yerevan State Medical University, Armenia for setting up of AYUSH Academic Chair.