The Parliament has approved Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment) Bill empowering the Centre to regulate opening of new colleges in the Indian system of medicine and their courses with the Government on Tuesday. With the new bill in place, the center hopes at putting Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani at par with Allopathy.

``We are trying to put the Indian system of medicine in the orbit to bring it at par with allopathic system,'' the Union Minister of State for Health, A. Raja, said in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

The global scenario regarding Indian medicine had changed and the Government had signed agreements on Ayurveda with countries such as Russia, Malaysia and South Africa.

The Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment) bill, passed by a voice vote, seeks to amend the Indian Medicine Central Council Act of 1970 to empower the Central Government to regulate opening of new colleges in the Indian systems of medicine and introduction of new or higher courses of study and increase in their admission capacity.

The Bill has already been passed by the Rajya Sabha. Lamenting that Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani had been neglected for long, members demanded that result-oriented steps be urgently taken to restore its primacy over Allopathy.