Govt should walk the extra mile to boost exports of ayush medicines

The Union Ayush Ministry, in association with the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has been devising several strategies to boost exports of Ayush medicines from India to foreign markets. The Ayush Ministry has already taken several steps to convince the foreign countries that the Indian traditional medicines are efficacy proven with scientific evidences. Further, the Ayush Ministry is in consultation with the Department of Science and Technology (DST) as well as with the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) to conduct scientific tests on formulations, raw materials and herbs used for the preparations of Ayush medicines. In another step towards boosting the morale of the Ayush exporters, the Union Ministry of Commerce has recently agreed to reimburse the expenses incurred for quality certifications, clinical trials, product registrations and plant inspections under an export promotion scheme called Market Access Initiative (MAI).

That the central government is attaching much importance to the exports of Ayush products is clear from the fact that in what can be a major milestone in the area of traditional medicine in the entire world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April this year had laid the foundation stone for the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) in Jamnagar, Gujarat. Being established by the Union Ministry of Ayush in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), this will be the world's first and the only global centre for traditional medicine which will highlight the potential of traditional medicine and utilize technological advancements to promote its safe and effective use.

The primary objective of this global centre is to harness the potential of traditional medicine from across the world through modern science and technology and improve overall health of the communities world over. In yet another initiative to boost exports of Ayush products and address trade issues pertaining to these alternative medicine sectors, the Central government has recently launched the Ayush Export Promotion Council (AEPC). The Council will have an exclusive focus on the implementation of trade-related initiatives and easing of trade issues while representing the interest of the Ayush exporters in all interactions with domestic and global stakeholders. The Council will monitor exports of Ayush drugs and even services of the Ayush systems. The AEPC, which will have an exclusive focus on the implementation of trade-related initiatives and easing of trade issues in the Ayush sector, is being set up on the lines of Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil), which played a key role in promoting exports of pharmaceutical products. Pharmexcil's role in boosting the pharmaceutical exports from the country is now well known.

There are no two opinions about the growing global interest in Ayush-based solutions for disease resistance and treatment, including for the treatment of Covid-19. It is an undisputed fact that Ayush products played a significant role in providing the much-needed immunity to the general public to fight the deadly coronavirus disease, which has taken a huge toll across the world, especially in the developed world including the US. The emerging evidence of a correlation between the low Covid-19 mortality rates and large-scale adoption of Ayush prophylactic solutions by the population in India is significant for the public health practice in the country. As the entire world was running amok for a timely solution to fight the deadly virus, the frontline role played by the Ayush sector in the fight against Covid-19 received kudos from one and all.

But unfortunately, in the total exports from India to foreign markets, ayurveda's share is only one percentage as about 90 per cent of the countries in the world are not recognising ayurveda drugs as medicines for therapies. India had exported ayush and value added extracts of medicinal herbs to over 150 countries in the 2021-22 period just worth $ 612.83 million. In the present context, there are a lot of complications to export ayurveda medicines to international standards. It is a fact that the global population is looking out for alternatives to modern medicines for various reasons which have increased the demand for traditional medicines as well as their credibility worldwide.

In spite of all efforts being taken by the union ministry of ayush and the ministry of commerce and industry to promote Indian traditional medicines in foreign countries, a number of steps need to be taken beforehand to achieve this goal including educating the healthcare managers and regulators abroad on ayurveda philosophy and its applications. As an industry, ayurveda has not seen its potential growth so far when compared to its increasing global acceptance and the capability to heal ailments. It is time the Ayush industry has to prove that it is a substantiated science. There should be some concerted effort to promote the country's own traditional system of ayurveda as an evidence-based medicine to the entire world. For that, the Indian government has to walk the proverbial extra mile.

(The author is freelance journalist with varied experience in different fields)