A National Council for Validating Alternative Medicines

April 18 , 2007

(Ayushveda.com) - The keen interest being shown by various nations in the world for the Indian originated brand of Ayurvedic medicine has certainly precipitated the authorities into action. Ayurveda and the other alternative medicinal therapies of Indian origin were hitherto quite ignored by the Indian government. But now that the industry has garnered a booming business in advanced countries, including the US , the Indian government is now waking up to the tremendous potential that their promotion can have.

Recently, it has been suggested by the Union Health Ministry, headquartered at New Delhi , the capital of India , to start a National Council to examine the worthiness of the Ayurvedic and other alternative medicine products that are being manufactured in India , and to in fact gauge the potential of these brands in the foreign market. This National Council will be responsible for the supervision of all clinical establishments within the country, especially those which are dealing with alternative medicines.

The job of the National Council is not going to be a simple task. First of all, there are five brands of alternative therapies prevalent in India , and all of them are in demand in the advanced countries to some extent or the other. Ayurveda is definitely one of the most highly promoted alternative brand, what with the hundreds of Indian websites on the subject, which also sell their own patented medicines to the other countries of the world. This is closely followed by Yoga, in which the products are quite few, but the therapy itself is a big hit in every country of the world. Unani and Siddha are lesser known, but still have great potential as a medicinal brand, since they also depend on a natural therapeutic system. Last but not the least, homeopathy is also heavily prevalent in India , though it is not a therapy of Indian origin. The reason behind this is that most of the herbs homeopathy requires are grown indigenously in India .

The National Council will have to keep track of what all these alternative brands are up to in the country, and how the clinics are promoting the brands. They will have to create and maintain an inventory of all the patented brands, not to mention testing the products before they are fit for exportation. The National Council will also have to decide how much production must be allowed to these brands, and how must the marketing be effectuated. In short, the National Council is set up to organize and streamline the production and distribution of all alternative brands in India

The National Council of the Union Health Ministry is to be set up under the directorate of Health Services. The chairperson of this Council would be the Director General of Health Services. All the alternative streams of medicine would be adequately represented, with one representative each from Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy and from the Central Council of the Indian Medical Association and the Bureau of Indian Standards. Apart from this, the council will have adequate representation from the dental, medical, nursing and pharmacy councils.

With the start of this National Council for regulating the production and distribution of Ayurvedic and other alternative medicines, the industry is all set to see a big boom, which means heavy profits to all involved, including the national economy.