World benefiting from Yoga as no one has patent on it: Prabhu

Emphasising that the entire world was benefiting from Yoga, Union Commerce and Industries Minister Suresh Prabhu on Monday said this was possible only because nobody has a patent or proprietary rights over it due to which the practice could spread all over the world.

"No one knows who invented Yoga due to which no one gets royalty for it. This is the reason that knowledge of Yoga is available to all and entire humanity is benefiting. We believe it should be available to the entire world," said Prabhu, addressing the first International Summit on AYUSH and Wellness here.

Noting that India in the recent times had taken initiatives to promote its traditional medicine system, Prabhu questioned patents on matters related to knowledge, which can otherwise benefit the world to a great extent.

"I am happy that we are taking initiatives... In fact it is bounding duty to share knowledge and let the world benefit from it. Knowledge should never be preserved in one country and it should be allowed to spread across the world.

"Just imagine everything that we discover, everything that we can offer as a knowledge is patented or someone has proprietary right on it. How will one benefit from it? How will the world benefit from it?," asked Prabhu

The four-day Yoga event is being held in the backdrop of National Health Policy 2017 strongly advocating mainstreaming the potential of AYUSH within a pluralistic system of Integrative health care.

It will showcase the strength and scientific validation of traditional Indian systems of medicines in the global context, including Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homeopathy (AYUSH), and facilitate their worldwide promotion, development and recognition.

The conference is being attended by 1,500 delegates from 60 countries.

Shripad Naik, the AYUSH Minister, said the government has taken many initiatives to popularise alternatives systems of medicine.

"The National AYUSH Mission was started in 2014. An agreement has been signed with WHO to develop benchmarks for Yoga, Ayurveda, Unani and Panchkarma. Five AYUSH information cells have been set up in Israel, Tajikistan, Peru, Russia, and Tanzania," said Naik in his inaugural speech.

A white paper, titled AYUSH for the World by Frost & Sullivan, was launched to offer insights into the regulatory requirements for herbal medicines in Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation nations.

Among the other senior dignitaries who attended the summit were AYUSH Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha and business chamber FICCI's Secretary General Sanjaya Baru.

--IANS

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