Reason to Rejoice for Ayurvedic Product Sellers

March 20, 2007

(Ayushveda.com) - A recent announcement by the Department of Ayush, which is the controller of all the six branches of alternative medicine in India, has given enough reason to rejoice for the sellers of Ayurvedic products. This announcement has made it obligatory for the sellers of all Ayurvedic products to submit reports on the raw materials they use.

Until this announcement, the manufacture of Ayurvedic products was an almost unregulated business. The patented medicines were controlled by governmental organizations, but the classical Ayurvedic medicines were prepared at the discretion of the manufacturers. However, this scenario will change when the announcement comes into effect. All manufacturers will have to submit a complete inventory of their raw materials. Apart from increasing the quality of the products, it will also make the medicines safer to use and more reliable for the foreign buyers.

This significant announcement has been made by the Department of Ayush, which oversees the six branches of alternative medicine, such as Ayurveda, yoga, naturopathy, unani, siddha and homeopathy. The announcement has been effectuated by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. By this announcement, the Ayurvedic medicine manufacturers will need to maintain a minute record of the ingredients they use in their preparations, along with the potency and the expiry dates if any. When this announcement comes into force, the manufacturers will also have to divulge information on the preparations they make – both classical and patented – at the behest of the Department of Ayush.

The manufacturers of Ayurvedic, siddha and unani medicines, will need to obtain a license from the Department of Ayush as directed in the section 3a of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act proposed in 1940. This is a statewide applicable license, which provides the manufacturer with a unique registration number for each of their products. If the medicine is a patented or proprietary medicine, then the directives of the section 3h of the same act will need to be followed.

The Ayurvedic Drug Manufacturing Association is still weighing the pros and cons of this new announcement. On one hand, it has increased the process of manufacture enormously, because each manufacturer will need to maintain a detailed inventory of all their products. But, on the other hand, it would cause a rise of prices in the market of alternative medicine. If the manufacturing process is made more complicated, then all major brands will increase their prices. As a result, the manufacturers will earn better revenues. Also, the consumer will find it safer to buy Ayurvedic medicines if they are supervised. This will translate into better sales.

So, all in all, this Department of Ayush announcement has come as a welcome news to the world of alternative medicine. Such an announcement also proves how the Indian authority is trying to tap the foreign market, by using regulation of the products as a means of export promotion.