Lok Sabha Question No. 433 (STARRED), answered on 2022-04-01
Subject: Ayurvedic Medicines
Ministry: AYURVEDA,YOGA & NATUROPATHY,UNANI,SIDDHA AND HOMEOPATHY (AYUSH)
Asked by: Sudarshan Bhagat

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AYURVEDA, YOGA & NATUROPATHY, UNANI, SIDDHA AND HOMOEOPATHY (AYUSH)

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 433 TO BE ANSWERED ON 1 ST  APRIL, 2022

## AYURVEDIC MEDICINES

## †*433. SHRI SUDARSHAN BHAGAT:

Will the Minister of AYUSH be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the trust of people on Ayurvedic medicines in the country has increased in the last two years;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the details of the steps being taken by the Government to increase the manufacturing of Ayurvedic medicines?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF AYURVEDA, YOGA & NATUROPATHY, UNANI, SIDDHA AND HOMOEOPATHY(AYUSH)

(SHRI SARBANANDA SONOWAL)

- (a) to (c) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 433* FOR 1 ST  APRIL, 2022

(a) : Yes Sir, Ayurvedic system of medicine is an existing ancient traditional system of medicine  of  India.  Its  role  has  significantly  been  boosted  with  the  establishment  of Ministry of Ayush, which has resulted into focused growth of the sector in terms of medical  education,  practice,  manufacturing,  research  and  International  cooperation. Further,  the  significance  and  usage  of  Ayurvedic  medicines  has  been  further  noticed during the wake of Covid -19.

(b) : In order to assess the usage of AYUSH advisories & measures in the prevention of COVID-19, 'AYUSH Sanjivani' mobile app was developed by Ministry of Ayush in 2020 which has documented the impact assessment of effectiveness, acceptance of AYUSH through population based study in around 1.35 crores respondents. Analysis of 7.24 lakh public data revealed that 85.1% of the respondents reported use of AYUSH measures  for  prevention  of  COVID-19,  among  which  89.8%  respondents  agreed  to have benefitted from the practice of AYUSH advisory. This shows increasing trust of people in AYUSH Medicines including Ayurveda.

Further,  Guidelines  for  extending  insurance  coverage  to  AYUSH  interventions have  been  evolved  for  AYUSH  hospitals  and  Day  care  centre  and  accordingly incorporated in the IRDAI regulations. Based on these regulations, about 27 insurance companies  are  offering  health  insurance  policies  for  AYUSH  treatment  of  the beneficiaries  which  is  a  reflection  of  acceptance  and  demand  of  AYUSH  treatment amongst the masses.

(c) :  Ayush  Ministry  has  taken  various  steps  to  increase  the  manufacturing  of Ayurvedic medicines at different levels:

i. Ease out licensing process: This Ministry has issued Gazette notification no. GSR 716 E for Amendment in the Drugs Rules, 1945 related to licensing process of ASU drugs  on  1.10.2021.  The  amendments  have  been  done  with  a  view  to  reduce  the compliance burden and facilitate ease of doing business. The process to grant license to manufacture Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani (ASU) drugs swift, paperless and more transparent the  license  application  system  has  been  made  online  through  eaushadhi.gov.in portal. The license of the ASU drugs have been made perpetual i.e. with one time registration fee the license of the product will be valid lifetime with no further  retention  or  renewal  fees  thereafter.The  maximum  time  in  granting  the license  to  manufacture  ASU  drugs  has  been  reduced  from  three  months  to  two months.

## ii. Promotion of Ayushproducts for Covid-19:

-  In the wake of COVID-19 outbreak, the Ministry of Ayush has issued direction to  All  State  Government/UT's  to  give  permission  for  issue  of  license  to  the Ayurvedic  drug  manufactures  to  manufacture  and  sell  in  Generic  name  as 'AyushKwath'  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  Drugs  and  Cosmetics Rules 1945.
-  The medicines which emerged out to be useful and mentioned in the National Guidelines issued by the Ministry of Ayush, are being manufactured by most of the Ayurvedic drugs manufacturers.
-  Research  and  Transfer  of  technology:  During  the  second  wave  of  this pandemic,  the  scientists  of  reputed  research  institutions  of  the  country  have found  that  AYUSH  64,  a  poly  herbal  formulation  developed  by  the  Central Council  for  Research  in  Ayurvedic  Sciences  (CCRAS)  is  useful  in  the treatment  of  asymptomatic,  mild  and  moderate  COVID-19  infection  as  an adjunct  to  standard  care.  In  order  to  provide  maximum  benefit  of  Ayush systems of medicine, a Nation-wide campaign for distribution of AYUSH-64 and  KabasuraKudineer(Siddha  Medicine)  was  taken  up  across  the  country. CCRAS  has transferred AYUSH-64  manufacturing technology through National  Research  Development  Corporation  (NRDC)  to  46  manufacturing units for manufacturing of AYUSH-64.
-  During COVID-19/Omicron surge the Ministry promoted the use of Ayuraksha Kit, BalRaksha Kit and Ayur care Kit for the health promotion of the masses. In this regard all the State licensing authorities were informed that requirement of separate Licence  for making  kits  with  the  specified  components  of Ayuraksha Kit, BalRaksha Kit and Ayur care Kit for the manufacturers having valid license of the individual component of the kit is not required.

iii.  Schemes to support Ayurvedic medicines production: Under National Ayush Mission (NAM) from 2014-2021, apart from other services Grant-in-aid were also provided for Strengthening of State Government ASU&H Pharmacies.At present, Central Sector Scheme for Ayush Oushadhi Gunavattaevam Uttpadan Samvardhan Yojana (AOGUSY ) has  been  implemented  for  the  year  2021-2026. One of the components of the scheme is Strengthening and up-gradation of Ayush Pharmacies to achieve higher standards.

iv. In addition to the above, for facilitating exports, Ministry of Ayush encourages following certifications of AYUSH products as per details below:-

-  Certification  of  Pharmaceutical  Products  (CoPP)  as  per  WHO  Guidelines  for herbal products.
-  Quality  Certifications  Scheme  implemented  by  the  Quality  Council  of  India (QCI)  for  grant  of  AYUSH  Premium  mark  to  Ayurvedic,  Siddha  and  Unani products on the basis of

third party evaluation of quality in accordance with the status of compliance to international standards.

v. Further, on 25 th March, 2022 a Host Country agreement has been signed between the Government of India and the World Health Organization (WHO) at Geneva for establishment of the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (WHO GCTM) in  Jamnagar,  Gujarat.  This  would  be  the  first  and  only  global  outposted  Centre (office) for traditional medicine across the globe. It shows the support offered by Government of India to this cause and its recognition globally, which will further give boost to the manufacturers of Ayurvedic medicines and more investment in the sector.

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