New Delhi: The Ministry of AYUSH has proposed to upgrade the education quality and facilities in the field of Ayurveda by inviting technological expertise from Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi.
The All India Institute of Ayurveda and IIT-Delhi are scheduled to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to encourage further research in ancient Indian medicines. The MoU would be signed during a two-day conference ‘Raising Towards Excellence’ on July 17-18 at IIC, New Delhi.
Human Resource Development minister Prakash Javadekar and AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik along with representatives from the National Institutes under AYUSH Ministry and IIT-Delhi would be present at the conference.
“AYUSH is working towards upgrading the facility and education in Ayurveda in PG/Research and healthcare. We need to translate the research available in India’s ancient wisdom and for that we need to bring doctors, engineers and management experts together,” Dr Tanuja Nesari, head of the All Indian Institute of Ayurveda, told News18.
IIT-Delhi director Rampgopal Rao confirmed participation in the conference and the signing of the MoU. “Since we do not have a medical faculty, we are trying to connect with AIIMS and AYUSH in studying Ayurveda, especially through our physical engineering department,” he said.
“We can subject Ayurveda to scientific experiment. Ayurveda is based on experience. With IITs joining them, we can explore the scientific validation, which is missing. We are beginning by inviting one faculty from each side to collaborate for 10 such projects,” he added.
He said the initiative is about exploring newer areas under AYUSH.
“We are going to further collaborate on how to make Ayurveda more technologically advanced while remaining firmly rooted to the past,” Dr Nesari said.
Doctors, Engineers, Management Gurus to Hone Ancient Thought
The AYUSH Ministry is also inviting representatives from the Indian Institute of Management to developing leadership skills, which are needed “to gain global recognition”, said Nesari.
She said the IIT fraternity will discuss about bringing technology and ancient wisdom together, and IIM representatives would provide management and leadership expertise.
Experts opined that Ayurveda is heavily dependent on its old parameters. “As of now, we have a very subjective approach, and it is physician-specific. In the current system, the doctor decides the treatment. We are now inviting engineers and management experts to bring in the technological and managerial finesse to the field so that physicians can deliver healthcare at the fastest pace,” added Nesari.
Sanjiv Oza, Vice-Chancellor of the Gujarat Ayurveda University, under AYUSH Ministry, will also be attending the conference. “We need to build the institutes of national calibre, like IIMs and IITs. So basically, we will be brainstorming over our structural changes with Ayurveda’s roots remaining intact,” he said.
Oza told News18 that the sessions will also deliberate on the use of nanotechnology in Ayurvedic drug preparation and how to use technology in ‘Panchkarma’ (procedure of purification) or in ‘Sushruta Samhita’, an ancient Sanskrit text on medicine and surgery.
Move for Change
There would also be focus on achieving administrational and financial uniformity in national institutes under AYUSH.
“Change is welcome. This was not done before because officers did not have this approach towards ancient Indian knowledge. Today, we have a secretary who is an expert, has travelled the country and realises the need to upgrade,” added Oza.
In June 2017, AYUSH Ministry broke the convention of choosing bureaucrats as their secretary by appointing Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, who is an Ayurveda expert.
The conference will be followed by series of other proposals. “There will be a collaborative research product with the IITs and the national institutes under AYUSH to develop the technology and give a push to start-ups and entrepreneurship,” added Nesari.
The conference will be attended by the national institutes under the AYUSH Ministry, All Indian Institute of Ayurveda, Institute of Post Graduate Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (Jamnagar), Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga National Institute of Ayurveda (Jaipur), National Institute of Homoeopathy (Kolkata), National Institute of Naturopathy (Pune), National Institute of Siddha (Chennai), National Institute of Unani Medicine (Bangalore) and Rashtriya Ayurved Vidyapeeth (New Delhi).
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