Ayurveda treatment system is one of the oldest treatment systems in the world and has been given importance in the country and the state since ancient times. People worldwide are adopting ayurvedic treatment and are witnessing productive results. In the current era of global corona pandemic, Ayurveda has once again proved its role in health treatment due to which importance of Ayurveda has increased.
Ayurveda treatment has played an important role in dealing with corona virus. The credit for popularizing Ayurveda in the state goes to the state government. To strengthening the Ayurvedic system of medicine in the state the State Government has initiated various steps and Ayurvedic department is playing an important role in providing better health facilities in rural and remote areas of the state.
At present, 1252 Ayurvedic health institutions are providing health facilities to the people of the state, which includes 1185 Ayurvedic Health Centres, 34 Ayurvedic Hospitals, 14 Homeopathy Health Centres, three Unani Health Centres, four Amchi Health Centres and 12 other institutions. The popularity of Ayurvedic treatment in the state can also be determined from the fact that in the year 2019-20 out of a total of 42 lakh seven thousand 504 patients, 41 lakh 9,559 out-patients and 97,945 indoor patients have got their treatment done through Ayurveda system.
During corona pandemic, the Department of Ayurveda has also distributed Madhushishtiyadi Kashay (Kada), which helped in increasing the immunity of people. This Kada is being provided free of cost to senior citizens including Corona warriors. So far, about one and a half lakh packets of this kadha have been distributed and a target has been set to produce more than 7 lakh packets in the future.
The state government has established herbal gardens in Jogindernagar in Mandi district, Neri in Hamirpur district, Rohru in Shimla district and Jungle Jhalera in Bilaspur district to promote Ayurveda in the state. Different types of medicinal plants are being grown in these herbal gardens which are used to prepare different types of medicines for various ailments.
Many welfare schemes are also being implemented in the state by the Ayurvedic Department. Under Medicinal Plant cultivation scheme, the department of Ayurveda is providing financial assistance to farmers in different agro-climatic zones for cultivation of medicinal plants.
Under the National AYUSH Mission, the department is running programs for the prevention of anemia in Theog of District Shimla, Kasauli of District Solan, Karsog of District Mandi, Teesa of District Chamba, Bhoranj of District Hamirpur and Bangana in District Una. The Ayurveda Department is also providing medical insurance benefits through health cards under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana in Ayurvedic hospitals of the state.
Under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme of the Government of India, it has been approved to upgrade the Health and Family Welfare and Ayurveda Department Centres to Health Welfare Centres, under which pregnancy and child birth care, newborn and child health care, childhood and adolescent health care etc. would be managed. Under this scheme, services of Yoga instructor would also be taken in health welfare centers, which aim to benefit the masses by involving them in yoga activities at the panchayat level.
In the year 2019-20, the Government of India has permitted the Ayurveda Department of to set up 84 health welfare centres and 56 health welfare centres in the year 2020-21. The department has targeted to upgrade 400 Ayurvedic health centres into health welfare centres in the state by the year 2023-24. Funds have been made available for these health welfare centres under the National AYUSH Mission.
Yoga and Naturopathy is an integral part of Ayurveda. To spread awareness among the masses about the benefits of yoga every year on 21 June, International Yoga Day is celebrated by the department from the state level to the sub divisional level. The government has also started Weekly Yoga Day under which on every Friday Yoga sessions has been initiated from 9:30 Am to 11:30 am in 471 selected health centres. So far now 25,872 beneficiaries have been benefitted through this programme.
The Department has also started School Adoption Programme and 1712 schools have been adopted under this program. In these schools, awareness regarding personal hygiene, daily lifestyle, food nutrition, common diseases and drug abuse through AYUSH has been provided to the students.
45 Memorandum of Understanding regarding ayurveda department have been signed during investers meet held in Dharamshala. Through these MoUs, investment of Rs. 1269.25 crore is expected in the state, which would provide employment to 5421 people of the state.
Under the National AYUSH Mission in the state, the Government of India is providing funds for strengthening and upgrading existing AYUSH institutions and to purchase medicines being provided to patients through AYUSH institutions. So far an amount of Rs. 57 crore has been made available to the department by the Ministry of AYUSH.
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Issued by:-
Director,
I&PR, Himachal Pradesh