Lok Sabha Question No. 3910 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-11
Subject: AYUSH interventions under Public Health Insurance
Ministry: AYURVEDA,YOGA & NATUROPATHY,UNANI,SIDDHA AND HOMEOPATHY (AYUSH)
Asked by: Behanan Benny, Dean Kuriakose

## GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRY OF AYUSH

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3910 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11 TH AUGUST, 2023

## "AYUSH INTERVENTIONS UNDER PUBLIC HEALTH INSURANCE"

## 3910 : SHRI. BENNY BEHANAN: ADV. DEAN KURIAKOSE: p

Will the Minister of AYUSH be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government is aware of the fact that the inclusion of AYUSH interventions under public health insurance has become highly challenging and untenable owing to a rise in healthcare costs as well as a crunch of public funds;

- (b) if so, the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to bridge the gap between modern and traditional healthcare systems;

(c) whether the Government has any plan to push investments for further Research and Development in AYUSH due to lack of their evidence based efficacy; and

(d) if so, the details thereof alongwith the steps taken/ proposed to be taken in this regard?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OFAYUSH (SHRI SARBANANDASONOWAL)

(a) and (b) Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) on 16th February, 2013 notified Health Insurance Regulation 2013 with provisions inter alia for 'AYUSH Coverage' in Health Insurance policies under clause 5(I). IRDAI modified the Guidelines on Standardization in Health Insurance Business vide circular No. IRDA/HLT/REG/CIR/209/11/2019 dated 26/11/2019 by incorporating the definitions of 'AYUSH Hospital' and 'AYUSH Day Care Centre'. As per the information received from IRDAI, 29 insurance companies now provide products that cover AYUSH treatment.

- (c) and (d) The Ministry of Ayush has made several initiatives to increase investment in the AYUSH sector for further Research and Development, which are as follows;
- i. The Ministry of Ayush has implemented the Central Sector Scheme namely AYURGYAN Scheme having two components, i.e., (i) Capacity Building & Continuing Medical Education (CME) in Aysuh (ii) Research & Innovation in AYUSH from the FY 2021-22. Under the research & Innovation in AYUSH, financial assistance is provided to the Organizations/Institutions for research studies, for promotion of AYUSH research and to support research & Innovation in AYUSH
- ii. Ministry of Ayush has implemented Central Sector Scheme, namely AYURSWASTHYA Yojana and it has two components i.e. (i) AYUSH and Public Health (PHI) (ii) Centre of Excellence (CoE). The AYURSWASTHYA Yojana was implemented in the Financial Year 2021-22 .The detailed guidelines of Ayurswasthya Yojana are available at: https://main.ayush.gov.in/hi/schemes-2/central-sector-scheme/ayurswasthya-yojana/
- iii. The Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) under Ministry of Ayush, is an apex body for the formulation, coordination, development and promotion of research on scientific lines in Ayurveda. CCRAS executes its research programmes with a network of 30 peripheral Institutes/centres/units throughout India with the headquarters at New Delhi, responsible for control, monitoring and supervision. Research work of CCRAS is executed through Intra mural and collaborative studies in areas of Clinical Research, Fundamental Research, Pharmacology Research, Medicinal Plant Research (Medico-Ethno Botanical survey, Cultivation, Pharmacognosy) Drug standardization Research and Literary Research & Documentation.
- iv. Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine(CCRUM) under the Ministry of Ayush is engaged in evidence based research under its clinical research programme. Clinical validation studies are being carried out on the pharmacopoeial / classical drugs through its 19 clinical research Institutes. The researchers are conducting research in Unani medicine on different modern parameters and published in various peer reviewed National/International Journals. Outcome of these researches are also presented in seminar / conferences / workshops / training programme etc.
- v. Central Council for Research in Siddha (CCRS) under the Ministry of Ayush mainly focuses on clinical research including safety and efficacy studies of Siddha drugs, validation of the fundamental principles, drug standardization and quality control, survey and cultivation of medicinal plants and literary research. 54 books, 10 Patents and 650 scientific research articles have been published by CCRS. CCRS is equipped with stateof-the-art infrastructure with sophisticated instruments and facilities The Council is engaged in multifaceted research activities. In the area of clinical research, pre-clinical Pharmacological / Toxicological studies, Open label trials, multi-centric Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) are being conducted for acute and chronic diseases. The main emphasis is on diseases of national health priority with a view to develop safe and effective Siddha treatments.
- vi. Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH) under the Ministry of Ayush is for scientific research in homoeopathy. It formulates, coordinates and promotes research activities through its 27 institutes/units and 7 treatment centers across the country. CCRH executes research programmes such as Clinical Research, Drug Proving, Drug Verification, Drug Standardization, Fundamental Research, Epidemic research, either in intramural mode or in collaboration with different institutes of repute and Public Health programs such as SC/ST Health camps and growing of exotic/indigenous medicinal plants used in Homoeopathy.

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