AYUSH ministry's fund utilisation up 25% in 2021-22, sales and exports rise

National AYUSH Mission, the flagship programme, had a shortfall of 16 per cent from budget estimates.

India must ensure that its traditional medicine is of modern global standards, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday at a ground-breaking ceremony for the WHO Global Centre of Traditional Medicine in Gujarat’s Jamanagar.

He called for a global repository of traditional medicine practices. A 'Business Standard' analysis shows that the government’s push for the AYUSH ministry, which promotes alternative Indian medicine systems, has been getting stronger. The ministry’s fund utilisation increased 25 per cent—its highest—in 2021-22 since its formation in 2014.

The expenditure of the ministry has increased 2.5-times compared to 2015-16. Moreover, over the last three years, expenditure growth for the ministry has been in double digits.

The National AYUSH Mission, the government’s flagship programme for traditional medicine, hasn’t done well in using funds. While the ministry’s utilisation over the last seven years has been just 5 per cent short of budget estimates, National AYUSH Mission has lagged spending by 16 per cent. In fact, expenditure growth has been negative in two of the last four years.

An analysis shows that expenditures by state governments declined by two thirds in 2021-22. In a Lok Sabha reply, the ministry said state government spending declined to Rs 65.17 crore in 2021-22, compared to Rs 198.62 crore in 2020-21 and Rs 271.64 crore in 2019-20.

Sales of AYUSH medicine have increased, indicating greater acceptability. Data from the ministry’s latest annual report for 2020-21 shows that the sale of AYUSH medicines by Indian Medicines Pharmaceutical Corporation Limited (IMPCL), which owns the manufacturing licence of Ayurvedic and Unani medicines, increased from Rs 66.46 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 164.33 crore in 2020-21.

Further analysis shows that exports of AYUSH medicines have also been rising. In 2019-20, 92,242 tonnes of AYUSH and herbal products were exported from the country. In 2020-21, exports increased to 120,558 tonnes. Between April-January 2021-22, 104,511 tonnes had been exported.

China and the United States are significant importers of Indian AYUSH and herbal products, and their share has increased. In 2019-20, China and the US accounted for 26 per cent of India’s exports; their share increased to 36 per cent in 2020-21, and it declined marginally to 32 per cent in 2021-22.