Traditional medicines sector Ayush gets funds worth Rs 6000 cr at summit

The investment commitment will lead to creating 550,000 jobs and help 7.6 million people, says ministry.

By the second day of the three-day Global Ayush Investment and Innovation Summit 2022, the traditional medicines sector had an investment commitment of Rs 6000 crore from around 28 companies.

Rajesh Kotecha, secretary to the Ayush ministry, said that the sector was set to break its own growth records in the upcoming months.

"Ayush Ministry has received LOI (letters of intent) from 28 companies to the tune of Rs 6000 crore. There are various memorandums of understanding (MoUs) signed with different countries as well as the Ministry of Defence to start Ayush facilities in over 35 cantonment areas across India, and with the Ministry of Science and Technology to promote cross collaboration with CSIR for joint PHD programmes and for mechanistic studies in Ayush" said Kotecha.

The investment commitment will lead to the creation of more than 550,000 jobs and it will help more than 7.6 million people, the ministry said.

"There is immense scope in the Ayush sector. The government budget in the sector has increased over four times from Rs 691 crores in 2014 to Rs 3050 crores in the last budget. The market also has grown exponentially from Rs 22,000 crore in 2014 to Rs 1.14 trillion," Kotecha said.

The Ayush sector has grown from $3 billion in 2014 to more than $18 billion now. Various countries including Columbia, Mexico, Cuba, Germany, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan and Thailand, committed themselves to increase their collaboration with the Ministry of Ayush.

The summit saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi announce Ayush mark for certification of traditional medicine products. According to the ministry, the need for quality standards and accreditation cutting across products and services was also noted at a time when companies such as Amul, Dabur India, Kama Ayurveda and others have committed to bring about synergy between the Ayush sector and the FMCG industry.

The two-day summit saw experts from various streams of Ayush and start-ups leveraging the opportunity to spread awareness about the growing sector and seek investments. A key highlight revolved around the need to utilize modern technology to validate the sector of Ayush, while keeping intact its foundational spirit. The summit sought to spark dialogue around the opportunities for Ayush in boosting medical travel to India.

Further, special focus was on inclusion of medicinal plants in supply chain management.

Having successfully concluded the first two days of the summit, the third day will focus on nurturing a favorable ecosystem for startups and entrepreneurs, apart from conversations around biomedical engineering innovations and the future trends which will impact the Ayush industry.

The Global Ayush Investment and Innovation Summit, organised by the Indian government, is the first of its kind to seek investments in a sector that grew rapidly in the coronavirus pandemic.