Ministry of Ayush is seriously working to give a fillip to its collaborations with countries that have strong focus on herbal medicine. The recent renewal of its memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the China State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (SATCM) on cooperation in traditional medicine after it concluded its five year validity period on January 13, 2013 signals a new trend in alternative medicine. Another MoU is proposed to be signed with Mongolia and Serbia.

Efforts to establish a Chair in the colleges of China for traditional medicine has been sought. Besides there are initiatives to set up an Ayush Information Centre, sponsored by Ayush ministry too.

Going by the proliferation of medical tourists for naturopathy, complimentary, alternative and integrative medicine, the Union government decided to propagate Indian Systems of Medicine (ISM) globally, according to officials who did not want to be named.

The recent MoU with China consequent to the visit of the Chinese President Xi Jinping to India and the visit of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the dragon land underscores the significance for extension of the MoU to enhance the cooperation in traditional medicine. It also goes on to strengthen the Ayush ministry’s earlier pacts with Malaysia; Trinidad & Tobago; Hungary, Bangladesh, Nepal and Mauritius. All these initiatives are expected to immensely benefit both countries, said the officials.

The Ayush ministry is now on an aggressive mode to promulgate Indian Systems of Medicine globally. These are 360 degree MoUs spanning from herb cultivation to collection and pharmacognosy among others, they added.

Both India and China are recognized for their well-established scientific systems of traditional medicine which hold tremendous potential for global health. Moreover, SATCM directly responsible for regulation of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China, stated the officials.

 For the first time, in 2012, Trinidad & Tobago set up the Ayush Information Centre, sponsored by the erstwhile Department of Ayush under the aegis of the ministry of health and family welfare. The objective was to promote and disseminate information on Ayurveda and traditional Indian medicines, said the officials.

“This move by the government has been a long standing request by the Ayurveda industry. With the strong demand for the globalization of the Indian Systems of Medicine, the government efforts to ink collaborations with other countries will only give accelerate growth prospects. Creating exchange programmes in other nations would boost understanding of Ayurveda which is being met by these initiatives, said Dr DBA Narayana, a pharmaceutical scientist who has been actively promoting policy developments for Ayurveda for many years.

 “Mainstreaming Ayurveda needs such collaborations, which will be good for both patients and consumers in these nations," added Dr Narayana,