Ayurveda industry is one of the fastest growing segments in Gujarat, with more and more  people opting  this alternate system now. The current surge of interest globally for alternate medicines have put the industry at the forefront in  seizing this opportunity.

To give a further fillip to  this highly potential segment, Gujarat Ayurvedic Aushadh Manufacturers Association (GAAMA) in association with Gujarat Chamber of Commerce, the Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) and Ficci is soon planing to take a 25 member delegation to Mauritius.

GAAMA with the help of government organisations aims to expose the ayurveda manufacturers from Gujarat to foreign trade so that they could explore business opportunities in Mauritius. Interestingly, almost 15 to 20 per cent of the total ayurvedic products manufactured in Gujarat is exported to Mauritius. The products are directly purchased by the Mauritius government as they are fully aware of the  benefits of ayurveda.   

This pro-industry initiative is part of the  agenda  by the government to concentrate on activities that are aimed at  strengthening ayurveda industry in  the international arena. This will be the first time that they will be organising B2B meeting with the companies for discussing prospective business opportunities.

According to Prabodh Shah, president of Gujarat Ayurvedic Aushadh Manufacturers Association (GAAMA) who initiated this task , this  is a huge opportunity provided by the government to the Gujarat -based companies and should be utilised for expanding their business sphere. Says  Shah , “The industry is showing positive sign of growth and thus it is the right moment  to encash this opportunity . This is the first time that we are organising an event at this scale targeted to benefit the industry. As of now we got a very proactive response from the industry for this meeting with almost 15 companies already registering to participate at this event which is expected to be held March next year.”

Steps to propel growth
Eyeing the prospective potential of this segment, the government has beefed up its initiatives . Recently, the Department of Ayush strengthened its activities to achieve its mandate in certain specific areas such as improvement of educational standards, strengthening of the regulatory mechanism, protection of consumers’ interests, quality control and research, and for propagation of Ayush in the international arena.

The Department has streamlined the system of receiving applications from    students for   admissions in  Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani educational institutions.

Procedures have been streamlined to make the annual inspections of the educational institutions more effective inducing institutions to improve their infrastructure. The impact of the various measures taken has already percolated down to the colleges which are making concerted efforts to improve their functioning, thus having a beneficial impact on the quality of education, he said.

For the first time ever, minimum standard requirements for ayurveda colleges have been notified. Industry feels that under the changing trends, even the government has become pro- active by providing the industry with the much required impetus.

Prospects of ayurvedic sector
The ayurveda sector in Gujarat has seen a gradual rise in the recent times. There have been a gradual surge in the demand for ayurveda- based treatments which is evident by sudden spurt  in the number of ayurvedic clinics and hospitals in cities like Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Gandhi Nagar  and Surat.

While there is no fixed data to show the growth of the industry in the state it is estimated that over time there have been steep rise in the the activities especially by way of exports. To further advance this momentum, the Gujarat government recently through its tourism department announced a slew of subsidies and incentives to the  companies who are interested in setting up panchkarma dispensaries in the state.

Under this scheme, the government has declared ayurveda as a growing industry and to promote it further  the government has announced plans to set up panchkarma dispensaries across the state in association with the industry.

Shah said  that this is a huge step taken by the government to  promote the industry and urged all the companies from Gujarat to make use of  this opportunity at the earliest. “Growth of the industry depends on the initiatives  of the government. After remaining passive to the key issues of the industry till now, this move surely  provides a much needed stimuli to the industry to go  forward and participate with the government.”

Jaman Malaviya, vice president, of GAAMA further adds that since the patients have become more aware and conscious about alternative medicines, many are complementing their allopathic treatments with ayurvedic medication or therapy. This is a huge progress as it provides an upward thrust to the industry to  reach out more effectively to the patients.

Bottlenecks
All said and done, there are still many barriers that needs to be bridged to fully yield the potential of this industry. Industry point out that in spite of the fact  ayurveda has originated in  India, this traditional system of medicine was never able to get deserved place in the Indian healthcare system. This  is because the government has been passive in promoting the industry at the national as well as the international arena, they feel.

Malaviya point out that there are many issues that needs to be addressed urgently if the government really want to encourage the industry. “The government needs to involve us in all the policy decisions so that we can also share our views  with them. All  rules and regulations that are made for the ASU industry is done without the knowledge without having any active deliberation or discussion with us on the impact of such rules and regulation. This needs to change, we want a larger participation in the government  decision making meetings so that we also get a proper platform to represent our cause like the pharma industry. We urge them to give us this opportunity that we are demanding for so long so that we can also be a part of this moment for  driving the industry,” adds Malaviya.