Dabur India, the Rs 1,232 crore FMCG and Ayurvedic company, signed an MoU with Shri Dhanwantry Educational Society. The society owns and runs the Dhanwantry Ayurvedic College, Ayurvedic Hospital and Ayurvedic Pharmacy in Chandigarh.

Sunil Duggal, CEO, Dabur and D K Gupta, president, Shri Dhanwantry Educational Society, signed the MoU.

This is company's first such alliance with any Ayurvedic institute, and is part of Dabur's strategy to expand and strengthen its Ayurveda offerings. This is also first such alliance in the country wherein a company has taken stake in the management and operations of an Ayurveda educational institution.

The alliance will help Dhanwantry in providing better facilities to its patients, channelise resources towards more productive R&D initiatives and clinical research, and also provide an industry perspective to the young BAMS doctors graduating from the college.

The Shri Dhanwantry Ayurvedic Hospital operates through a governing body, which comprises of a chairman, vice-chairman and three members, which report to a 36 member Council of Shri Dhanwantry Educational Society. Dabur has been offered representation in both the Governing body and the Council of the Society as part of the alliance.

As per the alliance, the vice chairman and a member in five-member governing body would be from Dabur. The company would also get representations on the Council of the Society. Dabur has plans to contribute substantial funds in the first year to expand the existing facilities of the hospitals and offer state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure.

As per the agreement, the Dhanwantry Ayurvedic Hospital would be renamed Dabur Dhanwantry Ayurvedic Hospital. The day-to-day operations of the college, hospital and pharmacy, however, would continue to be managed by the Dhanwantry Society as per the directions given by the Governing Body and the Council of the Society.

Dabur has actually taken stake in Shri Dhanwantry Educational Society and would be working towards providing strategic inputs besides expanding its infrastructure and offerings in line with the business opportunities. This tie-up is aimed towards enhancing Dabur's Ayurveda offering in the long-term.

With this tie-up, the company would be using the Dhanwantry Ayurvedic Hospital for generating claim support data, conducting clinical studies, research, new product development and promotion of Ayurveda.

The pharmacy would be used to sell Dabur's Ayurvedic medicines while the company would be providing industry perspective to young BAMS doctors by its participation in the Dhanwantry Ayurvedic College.