The Ayurveda Drug Manufacturers Association (ADMA) has urged the Union government to allocate Rs 711 crore in the forthcoming union budget for the modernisation of the Ayush sector.

Among the initiatives planned by ADMA to make use of the funds include schemes for industries and entrepreneurs, promotion of entrepreneurship in the Ayush sector (Rs 150 cr), development of standards and quality norms for Ayush ingredients, formulations and processes (Rs 31 cr), development of new formulations, technologies, tools and practices with validation of existing products and procedures (Rs 50 cr), scheme for technology up gradation and modernisation for the Ayush Industry (Rs 125 cr), scheme to identify, promote and develop 'Star' products for the international market and brand promotion for the ASU sector in India (Rs 300 cr), scheme for formation of Ayush Pharmacopoeia Commission (Rs 25cr) and General Policy Initiatives for promotion of Ayush industry (Rs 30 cr).

JSD Pani, secretary Karnataka Indian Medicine Manufacturers Association (KIMMA), who is also a member of ADMA, said, "India is deficient in entrepreneurial capital to nurture and promote new concepts and innovative business models. There are ample hurdles to access capital and most innovations are stifled before they emerge or there is flight of talent from the country. Therefore it is important that the Union government allocates funds to help the Ayush sector to transform itself with the changing times in terms of research, equipment and manufacturing technologies".

While the market for Ayush products is estimated to be around US$ 62 billion and expected to grow to around $1trilion within the next two decades, the funds either by way of soft loans and subsidy will see substantial increase in investments for innovation, pointed out Pani.

In order to monitor and manage the projects under Ayush sector, ADMA has recommended a Task Force manned by industry representatives for development of the industry for effective management and implementation of these development schemes.

For achieving quality standard norms, ADMA required total fund outlay of Rs. 31 crore. In order to have minimum quality standards for 200 formulations, a minimum of Rs 10 crore was needed. For new equipment and machinery Rs 5 crore was the requirement sought by the association.

ADMA also recommended to publish minimum standards and monographs for classical 200 formulations, and installation of state-of-the-art machinery to manufacture and process formulations as per the Pharmacopoeia.

Presently, the sector comprises of over 9,000 licensed manufacturing units and over 20,000 Ayurveda proprietary formulations and 1000 classical formulations are generated. There are over 256 graduate level colleges and around 8,500 Ayush graduates join the healthcare system annually.

Although there are many formulations in the market, only a handful meet guidelines specified and acceptable under the stipulated global norms. There is an urgent need to support companies, which are keen to upgrade the product dossiers to meet global standards. "Only if there is the required financial support then the sector can be nurtured to generate revenues," stated Pani who will be a part of the team at Mumbai for the ADMA meet on February 24.