Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be inaugurating the largest event in traditional medicine in the world, as India is set to host the sixth edition of World Ayurveda Congress (WAC) in Delhi from November 6 to 9. This event is a resolute effort to demonstrate the effectiveness of Ayurveda in addressing health challenges that the mankind faces today.

The four-day event, to be held at Pragati Maidan exhibition centre in the national capital, will witness a congregation of over 4,000 delegates consisting of industry leaders, health ministers, Ayurveda practitioners, traditional healers, educationists, students, scientists, drug manufacturers, growers of medicinal plants and marketing strategists — from across the world.

On November 7, the prime minister will formally inaugurate the WAC, whose focal theme is ‘Ayurveda and health challenges’. The event is being organised by Department of Ayush, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India in collaboration with World Ayurveda Foundation and the Delhi government. An Arogya Expo will be an important component of this event.

Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union minister for Health and Family Welfare and chief patron of organising committee of the 6 WAC, said that the conclave would provide an opportunity to propagate the efficacy of Ayurveda and its wellness quotient to the international community on a wider scale. The ministry has extended invites to all parliamentarians, union ministers, state health ministers and over 20 health ministers from overseas.

“Over the next couple of years, I wish to make the WAC as popular as the India international trade fair, which is also held at Pragati Maidan. Through this, the new generation of Indians would learn more of the country’s proud history as the birthplace of modern medicine,” he noted.

Dr Harsh Vardhan said an All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) is coming up at Jasola in the national capital. It will admit the first batch of post-graduate students during 2015-16. “I would like to see this develop into an institution comparable to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences — an AIIMS for Ayurveda,” he said.

This would be the largest Ayurveda congress with participation of around 4,000 participants, including around 200 international delegates from over 30 countries, such as Sri Lanka, Germany, the US, Italy, Singapore, Australia, Russia and Argentina. In all, 750 scientific papers will be presented by scientists from India and abroad. A distinctive feature of the congress is that health ministers of several countries will be rubbing shoulders with their counterparts of the state governments in India.
 There are seven Ayurveda universities and 270 Ayurveda colleges in India and their vice-chancellors and principals will also be participating in the brainstorming meet.

Five plenary lectures, 25 technical sessions, country presentations by health ministers of foreign countries (the first for a WAC), B2B meets, state health ministers’ meet, academia researchers conclave, traditional healers meet, and an assembly of international delegates will be among the highlights of the congress, spread over four days.

A seminar on medicinal plants organised by National Medicinal Plants Board will be an additional attraction of the event.

Besides Ayush, around 500 leading Ayurveda companies like Dabur; The Arya Vaidyasala, Kottakal; Shree Dhootapapeshwar, Baidyanath; Emami, Himalaya and Dhathri will set up stalls to showcase their products. Pharma Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil) would be organising the buyer-seller meet with over 50 international buyers from more than 20 countries being invited to meet with potential sellers from Ayush industry in India.