Union Minister of State for Tourism and Shipping, Ports and Waterways Shripad Naik said that the worldwide expansion of Ayurveda has been facilitated by the setting up of a separate Ministry of AYUSH, by Government of India in 2014. He remarked that when one sees the way AYUSH is rapidly progressing today, one must remember that the seed of this development lies in that decision.
“Our ancestors put Ayurveda in front of the world. ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ has been the spirit of India since the beginning. In 2015, the United Nations decided to celebrate the International Day of Yoga. Now it is benefiting citizens all over the world. The Ayurveda Congress’ activities go a long way in propagating such traditional systems of healing and well-being all over the world.”, he added.
He was speaking 9th World Ayurveda Congress (WAC) inaugurated at Panaji, Goa on Thursday, aiming at to showcase the efficacy and strength of the AYUSH systems of medicine at the Global level.
Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant said that the introduction of AYUSH visa for AYUSH treatment is a historic decision. The upcoming satellite centre of All India Institute of Ayurveda in Goa will boost Ayurvedic tourism in the state, he added. He informed that Goan students will get 50% reservation in admissions for various courses at the institute.
Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha observed that in the last 8 years AYUSH has grown tremendously. He stated that by the end of 2022, AYUSH sector will reach 10 billion dollars.He further stated that the contributions of AYUSH in the country’s Covid-19 pandemic management have been immense. He noted that the Ministry of AYUSH executed an impact assessment study and found that 89.9% of the Indian population has relied on AYUSH in some capacity for Covid-19 prevention and treatment.
The third edition of the ‘Ayushman’ comic book series was also released on this occasion. A MoU was signed between All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) and Rosenberg’s European Academy of Ayurveda, Germany to facilitate advanced studies in traditional Indian medicine systems.


