As the Centre pushes to widen the role of AYUSH in India’s healthcare system — including through greater coverage, rural outreach and integration with mainstream health services — the country’s AYUSH medical education infrastructure has expanded rapidly. But government data suggests the expansion has been driven largely by non-government institutions.
India’s push to expand AYUSH is not merely a recent revival of traditional medicine but an effort to integrate Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Yoga, Naturopathy, and Homoeopathy into the formal healthcare system. Ayurveda has roots going back thousands of years, while Siddha developed in southern India and Unani became established in the subcontinent through centuries of interaction with the Islamic world. Yoga and Naturopathy developed along different trajectories, while Homoeopathy arrived from Europe in the 19th century and subsequently acquired a substantial following in India. The institutional journey gathered pace after Independence, with the Government gradually creating structures for education, research and regulation. Sowa Rigpa, the traditional Tibetan medical system, was subsequently added to the group. Its agenda includes education, research, standardisation of medicines, hospitals and dispensaries, medicinal plants and the integration of AYUSH services into public healthcare. The expansion of medical education is now one of the clearest signs of this growth. The Government’s stated ambition is not necessarily to replace modern medicine, but to make AYUSH part of a broader healthcare system. That makes evidence, patient safety, proper referral and clearly defined professional roles crucial.
The modern Indian state has therefore treated AYUSH not merely as folk medicine but as a collection of systems requiring institutions, education, regulation and research. The decisive change came in November 2014, when AYUSH became a full-fledged Union ministry. Since 2014, the Government has sought to move AYUSH from the margins of the health system towards greater institutional recognition.
