Govt working on setting up nationwide 'AYUSH Grid'

The AYUSH Ministry is in the process of setting up a nationwide 'AYUSH Grid' connecting all hospitals and laboratories so that case histories and observations can be collated to generate evidence about the efficacy of the traditional systems of medicine, including Ayurveda, sources said.

The move is in line with the government's Digital India motto. Prime Minister Narendra Modi too had last week at a Yoga Awards ceremony emphasised on the need to create a homogenous system by setting up 'AYUSH Grid' on the lines of one nation, one tax and one nation, one mobility card.

The Ministry of AYUSH and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology have already inked a pact to collaborate with each other for the digitisation of the AYUSH sector.

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has agreed to advise and give technical support to AYUSH Ministry for planning and development of the grid project.

"This will be beneficial for all stakeholders of AYUSH including citizens of the country and in turn, will help to achieve various national and international goals in the healthcare sector," Dr Rajesh Kotecha, Union Ayush Secretary had said while signing the pact.

The move has been welcomed by the AYUSH experts and manufacturers of traditional medicines.

The executive director of AIMIL Pharma Ltd said, "This will instill confidence among people and bring transparency and accountability in the sector at a time when the government is focussing on universal healthcare."

The prime minister had pitched for connecting technology with tradition in the practice of AYUSH when he had announced the government's plans to establish 12,500 centres across India which would provide a traditional system of healthcare and medicines. Of these, 4,000 of which will be set up this year.

As per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the estimated proportion of all deaths due to non-communicable diseases has increased from 37.09 per cent in 1990 to 61.8 per cent in 2016.

An array of ayurvedic drugs are available in the market, with some of them developed by country's prestigious research institutions like the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

The CSIR has prepared BGR-34 for diabetes treatment while the DRDO has developed NEERI-KFT for kidney ailments and Leukoskin for leucoderma or white patches.