MODI AYUSH SUMMIT

category. This will facilitate people to travel to India for AYUSH therapy,” the PM said as he spoke about the “Heal in India” initiative. AYUSH stands for Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy. India has a central ministry dedicated to these alternative medicine systems. Modi said he got the idea to organise the summit amid the Covid-19 pandemic battle, and recalled the efforts made by India to tackle the pandemic, especially the work done by pharmaceutical companies and vaccine manufacturers. “‘Heal in India’ can become a big brand of this decade. Wellness centres based on Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, etc., can be very popular,” the PM said. “Before 2014, the AYUSH sector was less than $3 billion. Today, it has also crossed $18 billion,” he said.

The PM said India has become the best destination for other countries in the field of medical tourism. To promote this further, the PM said the government is taking another initiative for foreign nationals who want to come to India to be treated under AYUSH using traditional methods. WHO director-general Dr Ghebreyesus stressed on the areas of development and said, “Long term strategic investments and government commitment is needed to support innovation and innovators. The government needs to develop traditional medicine in a sustainable way, bringing traditional medicine to market must make sure communities that gave this knowledge also benefits out of it”. Mauritian PM Pravind Jugnauth said that it is a matter of pride for him to participate in the AYUSH Investment and Innovation Summit. “According to WHO, 80% of people in the world use traditional medicine. The knowledge of this medicine should not only be respected but should also be protected and promoted”, he said.