Union government has sanctioned Rs 90 crore to set up six dedicated 'State Institute of Yoga and Naturopathy' centres across the country. To begin with, these centres will come up in Karnataka, Haryana and Jharkhand.

The effort to set up regional centres across the country would provide a separate identity to Yoga and Naturopathy at the State level. In this regard, the Central Council for Research in Yoga & Naturopathy (CCRYN) is trying to persuade the State authorities to have a 'State Institute of Yoga and Naturopathy'.

In Karnataka, the state government has taken the lead to pursue the initiative from the Union government by granting with 16 acres of land at Nagamangala in Mandya district to set up an institute and a full-fledged 100 bed hospital for the Yoga and Naturopathy, Dr BT Chidananda Murthy, director, Central Council for Research in Yoga & Naturopathy, told Pharmabiz.

"Karnataka is the first state to come up with the offering of land and we propose to set up the Institute and the hospital at a cost of Rs 15 crore here. The project will take off in two phases. The first phase construction will commence in the next four to five months. CCRYN is now talking to other state government for the identification of the remaining three locations," stated Dr Murthy.

The Council is empowered by, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Department of Ayush to grant accreditation to conduct courses in Naturopathy and Yoga and registration to the Practitioners of Naturopathy and Yoga. It is expected to offer Diploma in Naturopathy & Yoga Therapy (DNYT) which will span for a period of two and half year's duration from June 2009.

Among other efforts by the CCRYN are launching a Mobile Health Research Unit to provide health care facility, especially to the rural masses and starting a Research Journal titled 'Journal of Yoga and Naturopathy'. Efforts will also be on to create a Data Bank for the Research in Yoga and Naturopathy.

Central Council for Research in Yoga & Naturopathy, set up in three decades ago 1978, is an autonomous body under the Department of Ayush. The Council has to initiate, develop and co-ordinate scientific research in fundamental and applied aspects of yoga & naturopathy.

Karnataka Pradesh Prakruthik Chikitsa Parishadand Swamy Vivekananda Yoga and Holistic Health Trust had organized the state level conference on Naturopathy and yoga here recently.

The state government has also highlighted the need to integrate yoga and other Indian System of Medicine into the allopathy streams of treatment. In this regard a target of 2020 has been set to integrate the modern and traditional systems of medicine, stated officials.