New Delhi: The AYUSH Ministry is in the process of setting up a nationwide ‘AYUSH Grid’ connecting all hospitals and laboratories so that case histories and observations can be collated to generate evidence about the efficacy of the traditional systems of medicine, including Ayurveda, sources said.
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has agreed to advise and give technical support to AYUSH Ministry for planning and development of the grid project.
“This will be beneficial for all stakeholders of AYUSH including citizens of the country and in turn, will help to achieve various national and international goals in the healthcare sector,” Dr Rajesh Kotecha, Union Ayush Secretary had said while signing the pact.
The move has been welcomed by the Ayush experts and manufacturers of traditional medicines.
Executive director of AIMIL Pharma Ltd said, “This will instil confidence among people and bring transparency and accountability in the sector at a time when the government is focussing on universal healthcare.”
The prime minister had pitched for connecting technology with tradition in the practice of AYUSH when he had announced the government’s plans to establish 12,500 centers across India which would provide a traditional system of healthcare and medicines. of these, 4,000 of which will be set up this year.
As per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the estimated proportion of all deaths due to non-communicable diseases has increased from 37.09 per cent in 1990 to 61.8 per cent in 2016.
The CSIR has prepared BGR-34 for diabetes treatment while the DRDO has developed NEERI-KFT for kidney ailments and Leukoskin for leucoderma or white patches.