Cabinet approves establishment of National Institute of Sowa-Rigpa in Leh

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the establishment of the National Institute for Sowa-Rigpa in Leh as an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of AYUSH.

It further approved to create the post of Director in Level -14 to oversee implementation of the project from the construction stage itself, read a statement.

Consequent to the formation of Ladakh as Union Territory and for the promotion of native culture of Ladakh, it has been decided by the Government of India to promote Sowa-Rigpa system of medicine by establishing a National Institute of Sowa-Rigpa (NISR) at Leh, Union Territory of Ladakh at an estimated cost of Rs.47.25 crore, the statement added.

Sowa-Rigpa is a traditional medical system of the Himalayan belt in India. It has been popularly practiced in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Darjeeling (West Bengal), Himachal Pradesh, Union Territory of Ladakh and now all over India.

The institute will provide an impetus for the revival of Sowa-Rigpa in the Indian Sub-continent. It will also provide opportunities for students of Sowa-Rigpa not only in India but also from other countries. The institute will be an autonomous national institute under Ministry of AYUSH with the mandate to undertake interdisciplinary education and research programmes in Sowa-Rigpa in collaboration with national and international institutes and facilitate the integration of different systems of medicine.

This will facilitate quality education, scientific validation, quality control and standardization and safety evaluation of Sowa-Rigpa products, standardized Sowa-Rigpa based tertiary health delivery and to promote interdisciplinary research and education of Sowa-Rigpa at undergraduate, postgraduate and postdoctoral levels.

The National Institute of Sowa Rigpa would identify the best Sowa-Rigpa treatment, including their standard procedures, within the framework of traditional Sowa-Rigpa principle and possible co-relation with bio-molecular western medicine in providing health care facilities to the general public, the statement added.