Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated the first ever 200-bed ayurveda hospital on the lines of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi and said his government plans to establish such traditional medical institutes in every district of the country.

AIIMS

“There is a strong need to integrate traditional and modern systems of medicines. This ayurveda hospital, which is like AIIMS, is equipped with most advanced technologies needed to treat patients,” Modi said as he launched the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) on the National Ayurveda Day.

The AIIA, which will function under the ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy or AYUSH, aims to offer quality patient care and become a research hub in generating scientific information about quality, safety, and efficacy of ayurvedic products.

Modi said a country cannot move forward if it is not proud of its culture and heritage. “We forgot our heritage for a long time…But now we have started remembering it again,” the Prime Minister said.

He said there’s a long list of benefits of ayurveda and added that people are showing interest in traditional medicines.

“More investment needed in this sector for better growth,” Modi said as he appealed to private companies to contribute a part of their corporate social responsibility funds towards developing yoga and ayurveda.

The AIIA’s outpatient department (OPD) facility started functioning a few months ago and deals with neurological and degenerative diseases, rheumatology and musculoskeletal conditions, diabetes and metabolic disorders, allergic disorders, yoga, panchakarma, kriyakalpa, diabetic retinopathy and infertility among other conditions.

Budget of AIIMS

The first phase of the hospital built with a budget of Rs 157 crore.

The hospital has a panchakarma therapy clinic that provides personalised care, laboratories, and diagnostic labs that conduct specialised pathology, biochemistry, microbiology tests and radiology scans.

It also teaches post-graduate students, PhD courses, and skill development programme.

“The idea is to popularise integrated medicine system. So far, allopathic doctors and those practising traditional systems of medicine have been working in silos, however, there is a need to break that practice and encourage them to work in tandem,” a senior AYUSH ministry official said.