Ayurveda is not just alternative but key basis of India's health, says PM Narendra Modi

PM Narendra Modi said that the world's prestigious medical journals are also seeing new hope in Ayurveda.

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (November 13, 2020) said that the Ayurveda is not just an alternative today but is one of the key basis of the country's health policy.

PM while dedicating two future-ready Ayurveda institutions to the nation on the 5th Ayurveda Day stressed the need to bring the Ayurveda knowledge out of books, scriptures and home remedies and develop this ancient knowledge as per modern needs. 

"Three years ago, the All India Ayurvedic Institute was established in India. Ayurveda is not just an alternative today but is one of the key basis of the country's health policy," said PM Modi.

He remarked that new research is being done in the country by combining the information received from the modern science of the 21st century with ancient medical knowledge. 

He inaugurated the Institute of Teaching & Research in Ayurveda (ITRA) in Jamnagar and the National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA) in Jaipur. Both the Institutes are premier institutions of Ayurveda in the country. The former has been conferred the status of an Institution of National Importance (INI) by an Act of the Parliament, and the latter is an Institution Deemed to be University by the University Grants Commission. 

Furthering the popularity of Ayurveda in India. #AyurvedaDay https://t.co/iuiADCnqsY — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 13, 2020

Director-General of World Health Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also gave a video message on the occasion and praised Prime Minister Modi's commitment to the universal coverage under Ayushman Bharat and evidence-based promotion of traditional medicines to achieve health-related objectives. 

PM Modi thanked WHO and the DG for choosing India for the Global Centre of Traditional medicine. He said that Ayurveda is an Indian heritage and it is a matter of happiness that India's traditional knowledge is enriching other countries also.

The Prime Minister also pointed out that during the coronavirus period, the demand for Ayurvedic products has increased rapidly all over the world. He said exports of Ayurvedic products increased by about 45 per cent in September in 2020 compared to 2019. He added the significant increase in export of spices like turmeric, ginger, considered as immunity boosters, shows the sudden boost in confidence in Ayurvedic solutions and Indian spices in the world. 

He said now, in many countries, speciality drinks related to turmeric are also increasing and the world's prestigious medical journals are also seeing new hope in Ayurveda. 

Prime Minister said that a special emphasis is given on Ayurvedic medicines, herbs as well as nutritious foods that enhance immunity and that the farmers are also being encouraged to increase the production of coarse grains as well as organic products on the banks of Ganges and in the Himalayan regions. 

This is to be noted that the Ministry of AYUSH, since 2016, has been observing ‘Ayurveda Day’ every year on the occasion of Dhanwantari Jayanti (Dhanteras).