India is known internationally for its time-tested, ancient, Ayurvedic treatments and medicines that are used to cure and heal many ailments. And the government has been making efforts to promote the manifold benefits of traditional medicine and Ayurveda to international tourists who often visit India for acquiring these treatments. Now, it will get even easier for them to do so.
At the inaugural session of the Global Ayush Investment and Innovation Summit 2022 at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, PM Modi said that the Centre has a plethora of initiatives to encourage and promote the Ayush sector. He added that India will soon also introduce an AYUSH visa category for international travellers seeking traditional treatments in the country.
“With this visa, it will make travel easier for accessing Ayush therapies (in India),” he said.
Apart from this, the PM also said that the Centre has decided on various activities and initiatives to promote the AYUSH sector, one of them being a digital portal to connect farmers who grow medicinal plants with the AYUSH product manufacturers. Additionally, the Prime Minister also noted that “Heal in India” could become this decade’s big brand. He added that the country is also developing an AYUSH mark to certify high-quality in herbal products for the global market.
“In the past few years, we have signed more than 50 MoUs. For Ayush, a huge export market will open up across more than 150 countries…India is an attractive medical tourism destination,” he said.
Modi also spoke about the former Kenyan Prime Minister’s daughter Rosemary Odingasa experience with traditional medicine.
In the same event, Modi along with Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and Ghebreyesus laid the foundation for the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine which “will help countries harness the power of science to strengthen traditional medicine with a focus on evidence, data, sustainability and innovation,” said Ghebreyesus.
WHO’s website stresses on the importance of traditional medicine: “Around 80% of the world’s population is estimated to use traditional medicine, such as herbal medicines, acupuncture, yoga, indigenous therapies and others.” It also states that “traditional medicine has been an integral resource for health for centuries in communities around the world, and it is still a mainstay for some with inequities in access to conventional medicine. The sociocultural practice and biodiversity heritages of traditional medicine are invaluable resources to evolve inclusive, diverse sustainable development. Traditional medicine is also part of the growing trillion-dollar global health, wellness, beauty, and pharmaceutical industries.”
As such, India’s treasure chest of traditional medicine and Ayurvedic wisdom has long made it the one of the most popular health tourism destinations for people seeking medical treatments that are not available or is the specialty of their homeland.