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The Ayurveda sector has requested Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to announce a waiver of GST on products with a license to sell as Ayurvedic medicines which will be passed on to consumers in the form of price cuts, thereby leading to increased consumption of Ayurvedic products.
J Hareendran Nair, Founder and Managing Director, Pankajakasthuri Herbals India, based here also urged enhanced aid/tax holidays for setting up world-class research facilities to promote new drug discovery. “When the virus is new and the attack unprecedented, we need new medicines and solutions to deal with them,” he told BusinessLine .
Indigenous Ayurvedic products
Supporting the private sector in such a way will see decreasing indulgence and reliance on imports of API’s (active pharmaceutical ingredients) and more focus on indigenous Ayurvedic medicines in line with the Prime Ministers Atma Nirbhar Bharat Vision, Hareendran Nair said.
Similarly, medicinal plant cultivation and large-scale farming need to be encouraged. “India can be a powerhouse in this segment if planned and supported properly. Setting up the infrastructure to boost the employment of modern techniques in cultivation will result in quality Ayurvedic herbs being made available at the disposal of various manufacturers across the country,” he added.
Seed fund for young doctors
This will in turn support the farmers and the industry alike. He also batted for a seed fund for young Ayurvedic doctors and scholars to encourage research and new drug discovery. Research and new product development in Ayurveda are happening on a minuscule scale compared to those in modern medicine.
“The world is looking for safe and effective medicines from other systems of medicines and India and our Ayurvedic doctors as well as scholars can be the right answer,” he said. Drawing a comparison with the promotion of Indian tourism, a suitable budget allocation could do wonders for Ayurvedic products.
This would open up newer markets for Ayurvedic products and more forex revenue for the country. In general, the industry is looking forward to initiatives to invest more on research, standardisation, clinical studies and documentation in order to make Ayurvedic products more acceptable in developed countries.
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