Ayush industry may create 26 million jobs by 2020: Govt

New Delhi: Buoyed by the increase in the demand of ayurvedic medicines and herbal products in the country and abroad due to its efficacy, the government is aiming that Ayush sector would help in fulfilling the ambitions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi by creating job opportunities for million by 2020. Pinning the hope on steady growth in the export of herbal products, Union Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu said, "The way, in which new ventures are growing in this area, in the next two years, 10 lakh people would be directly employed and 2.5 crore people would get indirect employment."

The Ayush industry is expected to grow in double digits and the government is eyeing a three-fold increase in the Ayush sector by 2022. Ayush stands for traditional systems of medicine and healthcare such as Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy.

"The Indian domestic market of Ayush is estimated to be Rs 500 crore, while exports amounted to Rs 200 crore. Young Indian entrepreneurs planning a start-up could find a lot of opportunities in holistic healthcare," the commerce minister said.

Addressing the inaugural session of the conference on wellness, Arogya 2017, Prabhu said that the government will be happy to work with all countries to create a good proposition wherein knowledge of traditional medicine can be transmitted to people, whereby a win-win situation can be developed.

He pointed out that the government has allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in Ayush, and highlighted the need for stakeholders to pool their resources to harness the sector's vast potential.

"With a wealth of 6,600 medicinal plants, India is the second largest exporter of Ayush and herbal products in the world. We now have the opportunity to mainstream the Indian system of medicine and integrate the Ayush infrastructure into Indian healthcare system," Prabhu said.

On the occasion, Ayush Minister Shripad Yesso Naik said, "The Ministry of Ayush is trying to achieve a comprehensive integration of Ayush in the health services. Through the ministry, we are not only promoting developmental activities of traditional medicine at the national level but also looking at more international cooperation and collaboration opportunities at bilateral, multilateral, regional and global levels."

"Five Ayush information cells have been set up in Israel, Tajikistan, Peru, Russia and Tanzania, while All India Institute of Ayurveda has been established at Delhi. The government is also offering incentives to Ayush industry for international cooperation and encouraging certification of herbal products to facilitate exports," Naik said.

Several government laboratories have recently created such medicines which are proving a solution to chronic diseases. The CSIR has developed anti-diabetes drug BGR-34, while DRDO has developed Lukoskin for treating leucoderma disease, which is very common in children of coastal areas. The technology to manufacture both the drugs has been transferred to AIMIL Pharmaceuticals.

"With the help of DRDO-developed Lukoskin above 5,000 patients have been treated so far and there is a huge demand of the drug from countries like Sri Lanka, America, Malaysia, Africa, etc," said KK Sharma, who heads the firm that manufactures Lukoskin.