The Hindu Business Line : Make yoga mandatory in schools: Ramadoss

"We have asked the HRD ministry to make Yoga mandatory in schools," announced the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Mr Anbumani Ramadoss, inaugurating the 6th Comprehensive Health Fair, Arogya, organised by the Department of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy).

India, with its 5000-year-old knowledge base of traditional medicinal practices, had the right climatic conditions and huge potential to be a big part of the alternative medicine industry, which according to the Minister would be worth $5 trillion in 40 to 45 years.

Promising to process loans for manufacturers of medicinal plants and their products, the Minister said, "Eighty per cent of the exports today consists of raw material. We are working with the Department of Commerce and hope to reverse that to make 90 per cent of the exports, that of processed goods." This would add value and increase foreign exchange revenue in the sector.

Stating that although he was a doctor in the western school of medicine, the Minister said that he had seen that often the Indian system functions better than the western system.

"Last year the PM launched the National Rural Health Mission, the biggest programme since our independence, and we hope to integrate Ayurveda with modern health care system under this programme." The Minister also encouraged cultivators to replace tobacco crops with medicinal plant crops.

Acknowledging the "negative remarks from Canada, Europe and the US," and concerns over the presence of zinc and lead in Ayurvedic medicines, the Minister said that efforts were being made to promote scientifically established procedures and standardisation. The golden triangle project by the Department of AYUSH Health, and the establishment of processing zones in association with the Department of Commerce were steps taken in that direction.

Although labs tests for the products banned by Canada are yet to be completed, the Department of AYUSH hopes to rebuild faith in collaboration with the Export Promotion Council of India and the Commerce Ministry.

Standardisation

Although the debate over the lack of any standardisation and quality checks has been raging for a while, AYUSH maintains the onus to ensure GMP (good manufacturing practices) under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act lies with the manufacturer.

Meanwhile, the department has decided to focus its attention on the exports of finished goods, which are worth Rs 300 crore. Exports of raw materials account for Rs 1200 crore and the domestic market is of Rs 6,000 crore. According to a senior official in the department, the Government can only give guidelines since the size of the domestic market for alternative medical practices does not make the cost of regulations feasible. Also, he points out, R&D has to be developed `de nouveau' for these ancient practices. And since the active ingredients in plants vary from area to area, season to season, "meeting WHO standards is a Herculean task."

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Make yoga mandatory in schools: Ramadoss