Lok Sabha Question No. 959 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-25
Subject: Promotion of AYUSH
Ministry: AYUSH
Asked by: Shri Balwant Baswant Wankhade

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AYUSH

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 959 ANSWERED ON 25 TH  JULY, 2025

## ' Promotion of AYUSH '

† 959. Shri Balwant Baswant Wankhade:

Will the Minister of Ayush be pleased to state:

(a) whether adequate steps have been taken by the Government to promote and popularize AYUSH including Unani system of medicine and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the Government is aware of the alleged use of heavy metals in Ayurveda and other AYUSH products/medicines;

- (c) if so, the details thereof along with the reaction of the Government thereto;

(d) the details of Unani hospitals and medical centres currently functioning in the country, State/UT-wise; and

(e) whether the Government proposes to open more such hospitals/centres in the country particularly in Delhi and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF AYUSH (SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV)

(a) The  Ministry  implements  the  Central  Sector  Scheme  (CSS)  for  Promotion  of Information  Education  and  Communication  (IEC)  in  Ayush  to  create  awareness  regarding Ayush system of medicine including Unani system of medicine. This aims to reach out to all sections of the population across the country. This scheme provides assistance for organizing National/State  Arogya  Fairs,  Yoga  Fests/Utsavs,  Ayurveda  Parvs,  etc.  The  Ministry  also undertakes Multi-Media, Print Media Campaigns for creating awareness about Ayush system of medicine.

The  Ministry  of  Ayush  also  evolved  the  Central  Sector  Scheme  (CSS)  for  Promotion  of International Cooperation for Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha & Homeopathy (Ayush) (IC Scheme). Under this scheme the Ministry provides support to Indian Ayush drug Manufacturers/ Ayush Service providers to give boost to the export of Ayush products and services; facilitates the International promotion, development and recognition of Ayush system of  medicine;  foster  interaction  of  stakeholders  and  market  development  of  Ayush  at international  level;  promote  academics  and  research  through  the  establishment  of  Ayush Academic  Chairs  in  foreign  countries  and  holding  training  workshop/symposiums  for promoting  and  strengthening  awareness  and  interest  about  Ayush  system  of  medicine  at international level including Ayurveda.

Under the CSS IC Scheme, 25 Country to Country MoUs, 15 Ayush Chair MoUs and 52 Institute to Institute level MoUs have been signed.

Further, in order to promote Ayush including Unani system of medicine, Ministry of Ayush has established 05 Research Councils and 12 National Institutes, as per details at Annexure-I. These  institutions  alongwith  its  peripheral  institutes/units/centres  are  providing  treatment through General Outpatient Department (OPD), Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) OPD, Geriatric OPD, Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Clinic etc. and also engaged in awareness activities  to  promote  Ayush  including  Unani  system  of  medicine  through  Arogyas,  Health Melas, Health Camps, Exhibitions and School Health Programme etc. in different parts of the Country. Apart from these, they also publish journals/bulletins which are available electronically  in  the  public  domain  for  dissemination  of  the  information  among  the  public pertaining to Ayush system of medicine and imparting education in Ayush system of medicine at Under-Graduate (UG), Post-Graduate (PG) and Ph. D level.

Ministry  of  Ayush  is  also  implementing  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  of  National  Ayush Mission (NAM) through States/UTs for development and promotion of Ayush including Unani system of medicine in the country and Grant-in Aid is provided to State/UT Governments as per the proposals submitted through State Annual Action Plans (SAAPs).

(b) & (c) Ministry  of  Ayush  has  established  Pharmacopoeia  Commission  for  Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H), as its subordinate office. PCIM&H lays down the Formulary  Specifications  and  Pharmacopoeial  Standards  for  Ayurveda,  Siddha,  Unani  & Homoeopathic  (ASU&H)  drugs,  which  serve  as  official  compendia  for  ascertaining  the Quality Control (identity, purity and strength) of the ASU&H drugs, included therein, as per Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules 1945, thereunder.  The quality standards of ASU&H drugs  also  prescribing  the  permissible  limits  of  Heavy  Metals  as  per  World  Health Organization (WHO) guideline. Compliance to these quality standards is mandatory for the production of ASU&H drug being manufactured, sell and stocked in India. Implementation of these  Pharmacopoeial  standards  ensures  that  the  medicines  conform  to  optimum  quality standards in terms of identity, purity, strength.

(d) 267 Unani hospitals and 1874 Unani dispensaries are functioning in the Country.  The details are at Annexure-II.

(e) Public Health being a State subject, establishment of Ayush hospitals and dispensaries including  Unani  in  the  country  including  Delhi  comes  under  the  purview  of respective State/UT Governments. However, under Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National Ayush  Mission  (NAM),  there  are  provisions  of  financial  assistance  to  States/UTs  for establishment of new integrated Ayush hospitals and new Ayush dispensaries in the area where there  are  no  Ayush  facilities  available.  State/UT  Governments  may  avail  eligible  financial assistance by submitting suitable proposals through State Annual Action Plans (SAAPs) as per the provisions of NAM guidelines.

*****

## Details of Research Councils and National Institutes Functioning under the Ministry of Ayush

## Research Councils:

|   Sl. No. | Name of Research Council                                     |
|-----------|--------------------------------------------------------------|
|         1 | Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS)   |
|         2 | Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy (CCRYN) |
|         3 | Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM)       |
|         4 | Central Council for Research in Siddha (CCRS)                |
|         5 | Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH)           |

## National Institutes:

|   Sl. No. | Name of Institute                                                                      |
|-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|         1 | National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA) • Jaipur • Panchkula (Satellite Centre)           |
|         2 | All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) • New Delhi • Goa (Satellite Centre)            |
|         3 | Rashtriya Ayurveda Vidyapeeth (RAV), Delhi                                             |
|         4 | Institute of Teaching& Research in Ayurveda (ITRA), Jamnagar                           |
|         5 | Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY), New Delhi                            |
|         6 | National Institute of Naturopathy (NIN), Pune                                          |
|         7 | National Institute of Unani Medicine (NIUM) • Bengaluru • Ghaziabad (Satellite Centre) |
|         8 | National Institute of Siddha (NIS), Chennai                                            |
|         9 | National Institute of Homoeopathy (NIH) • Kolkata • Narela (Satellite Centre)          |
|        10 | National Institute of Sowa Rigpa (NISR), Leh                                           |
|        11 | North Eastern Institute of Ayurveda &Homoeopathy (NEIAH), Shillong                     |
|        12 | North Eastern Institute of Ayurveda and Folk Medicine Research (NEIAFMR), Pasighat     |

## Annexure-I

## Annexure-II

State wise number of Unani Hospitals and Dispensaries as on 01.04.2023

| S.No.                                      | State / UT                                 | Unani                        | Unani                        |
|--------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------|------------------------------|------------------------------|
|                                            |                                            | No. of Hospitals             | No. of Dispensaries          |
| (A) States/Union Territories               | (A) States/Union Territories               | (A) States/Union Territories | (A) States/Union Territories |
| 1                                          | Andhra Pradesh                             | 2                            | 92                           |
| 2                                          | Arunachal Pradesh                          | 0                            | 1                            |
| 3                                          | Assam                                      | 0                            | 0                            |
| 4                                          | Bihar                                      | 1                            | 333                          |
| 5                                          | Chhattisgarh                               | 1                            | 26                           |
| 6                                          | Delhi                                      | 2                            | 25                           |
| 7                                          | Goa                                        | 0                            | 0                            |
| 8                                          | Gujarat                                    | 0                            | 0                            |
| 9                                          | Haryana                                    | 1                            | 23                           |
| 10                                         | Himachal Pradesh                           | 0                            | 3                            |
| 11                                         | Jammu &Kashmir                             | 6                            | 267                          |
| 12                                         | Jharkhand                                  | 0                            | 147                          |
| 13                                         | Karnataka                                  | 25                           | 89                           |
| 14                                         | Kerala                                     | 0                            | 16                           |
| 15                                         | Madhya Pradesh                             | 4                            | 64                           |
| 16                                         | Maharashtra                                | 7                            | 24                           |
| 17                                         | Manipur                                    | 5                            | 0                            |
| 18                                         | Meghalaya                                  | 0                            | 0                            |
| 19                                         | Mizoram                                    | 0                            | 0                            |
| 20                                         | Nagaland                                   | 0                            | 0                            |
| 21                                         | Odisha                                     | 0                            | 9                            |
| 22                                         | Punjab                                     | 1                            | 34                           |
| 23                                         | Rajasthan                                  | 11                           | 341                          |
| 24                                         | Sikkim                                     | 0                            | 0                            |
| 25                                         | Tamil Nadu                                 | 1                            | 65                           |
| 26                                         | Tripura                                    | 0                            | 0                            |
| 27                                         | Uttar Pradesh                              | 183                          | 73                           |
| 28                                         | Uttarakhand                                | 3                            | 2                            |
| 29                                         | West Bengal                                | 1                            | 6                            |
| 30                                         | A&N Island                                 | 0                            | 0                            |
| 31                                         | Chandigarh                                 | 0                            | 2                            |
| 32                                         | D&N Haveli and Daman &Diu                  | 0                            | 0                            |
| 33                                         | Ladakh                                     | 0                            | 8                            |
| 34                                         | Lakshadweep                                | 0                            | 0                            |
| 35                                         | Puducherry                                 | 0                            | 0                            |
| 36                                         | Telangana                                  | 3                            | 184                          |
| TOTAL(A)                                   | TOTAL(A)                                   | 257                          | 1834                         |
| (B) CGHS &Central Government Organizations | (B) CGHS &Central Government Organizations | 10                           | 40                           |