Ayurveda Convention
National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan (second from right) presenting the Brihatrayee Ratna Award to P.K. Warrier, managing trustee of Arya Vaidya Sala, Kotakkal, at the valedictory function of an Ayurveda convention in Coimbatore on Sunday. Minister of State for Law and Justice K. Venkatapathy (left) and managing director of Arya Vaidya Pharmacy P.R. Krishnakumar are in the picture. The new found love for India among various countries is not just because of its posting a 9 per cent growth or for its inclusive society or a huge pool of highly trained people but because of the fresh hope India gives the world through the Ayurveda, National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan said on Sunday.
He was addressing the valedictory function of the international grand centennial celebration of the Arya Vaidya Pharmacy here. Mr. Narayanan presented the Brihatrayee Ratna Award to Arya Vaidyan P.K.Warrier at the function. Mr. Narayanan said more than Homoeopathy, the Ayurveda had captured the imagination of the world, since it symbolised the best of India’s traditions. Arya Vaidyan P.V. Rama Varier brought the Ayurveda to mainstream medicine, and it was much more than an alternative medicine.“And it was seen as a foil to many of the ill effects of modern medicine.”
Quoting Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss, who could not make it to the function, Mr. Narayanan said the Minister wanted to state that “India has a certain comparative advantage in traditional medicine and can take full advantage of the global resurgence of interest in complementary and alternative medicine.” The Ayurveda, along with other traditional systems of medicine such as Siddha and Unani, had proven its strengths in prevention and management of chronic lifestyle-related, non-communicable diseases and diseases for which there were no effective drugs in the modern medicine.
The Department of Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) laid stress on upgrade of educational institutions, quality control, standardisation of drugs, sustainability of raw materials and greater availability of medicinal plants through conservation, cultivation, research and development. The infrastructure and capacity of the research councils under the Ministry of Health were being upgraded for state-of-the-art scientific work relating to standardisation, quality control and pharmacopoeial standards and clinical trials.
There were also schemes for public-private partnerships for setting up speciality clinics and medicinal plants processing zones. Minister of State for Law and Justice K. Venkatapathy said that by 2016, India would account for 113 million elderly people (10-12 per cent of the population), and 51 per cent of them would be women. So, greater focus was needed on age-related ailments.
