Garhwal Post Bureau
NEW DELHI, 4 Dec: BJP National Co-Treasurer and Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Bansal has raised the demand for significantly strengthening Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy in the country’s healthcare framework, bringing the matter before the House in Rajya Sabha under a Special Mention. Raising this issue, Bansal insisted that it is of profound public and national importance and requires urgent attention from the Government.
Bansal asserted that India’s indigenous health systems linked with the AYUSH framework are not confined to treatment alone but play a vital role in disease prevention as well. He said these systems are particularly close to the heart of the country’s “successful Prime Servant” Narendra Modi, yet they continue to receive neither the status nor the resources accorded to the allopathic system in the country. Citing figures, he stated that the Union Health Ministry’s budget stood at Rs 1 lakh crore, while the AYUSH Ministry received only around Rs 4000 crore, a disparity that he described as a major impediment to the advancement of Ayurveda and related disciplines.
Bansal urged the Union Government through to take seven essential measures to address these gaps. He said Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy must be brought under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme and added that the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, 1954, should be repealed to pave the way for a Uniform Healthcare Code. He pressed for special incentives for the Ayurvedic industry, startups and research and demanded that the budget for AYUSH systems be enhanced by at least five times in keeping with present-day requirements.
Stating that medical education needed foundational cohesion, Bansal proposed that the first year of all medical courses should be uniform so that students acquire basic knowledge of all the medial systems. He emphasised that Ayurveda and Yoga ought to be compulsory subjects up to Class 10 and said AYUSH doctors should be granted permission to conduct X-ray and MRI examinations as well as perform surgery and delivery in order to ensure holistic integration of healthcare services.
Bansal further appealed to the Chair, saying it was time to accord India’s vast indigenous medical heritage the rightful position it deserves in the national health ecosystem.
