India moots regulations on Ayurveda, Yoga

Geneva, May 29: With Ayurveda and Yoga going global in a big way, the Indian government is enforcing more effective regulations on Indian systems of medicine to meet the domestic and international standards.

From January one next year, all the manufacturers of Ayurveda and Unani medicines should display a true list of all ingredients used in each and every drug, AYUSH Secretary Vijay Singh, who was here in connection with the 5-day-long World Health Assembly, organised by the WHO, told sources.

''Regulation, safety and information are our first priority so that Indian systems of medicine could thrive at its purest form.

There must be a level of regulation and safety norms which are accepted by the modern medicine,'' he said.

Mr Singh said the Indian systems of medicine remained unregulated all these years. However, regulation is taking place now.

With a view to sustaining the increasing popularity of Yoga among the foreigners, Indian governemnt is ready with a set of rules to accredit yoga centres as an effective step to weed out bogus centres.

''The accreditation system will be in place soon. We are working on it, AYUSH director Sangeeta Goyal said, pointing out that the states have been asked to put in place a regulatory system of their own.

The effort is to make the international standards applicable to the domestic market as well, she said.

As part of the World Health Assembly, Department on Ayurveda, Unani, Yoga and Naturopathy, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) has organised an exposition on Indian Medicine to attract global attention to the Indian systems of medicine in the context of alternative systems of medicine becoming popular in the developed countries.

Mr Singh said the government proposed several measures to address the issue of bogusness in Yoga and Naturopathy.

He said the AYUSH was now concentrating on spreading the scientific basis of Ayurveda so that the claims regarding cure were validated.

In this context, he referred to the ban on certain ayurvedic drugs imposed by countries like Singapore, Canada, Denmark, Ireland in view of the use of heavy metals like mercury in excess of the limit.

The issue of heavy metals is to be dealt in great details. It will be discussed with the industry, Mr Singh said, adding that India has made testing for heavy metals in purely herbal drugs mandatory for export purposes and would extend such mandatory testing very shortly to drugs meant for use in India as well. He said the government was now supporting the establishment of modern laboratories throughout the country for the testing of these drugs and all manufacturers now have to conform to good manufacturing practices (GMP) prescribed by the government.

The AYUSH secretary said the ayurvedic texts prescribe the use of heavy metals in some formulations. They also prescribe methods of purification of heavy metals.

''Once they are strictly adhered to, there is no problem,'' he said.

He, however, said the issue of heavy metals ''is much engaging the department of AYUSH''.

He also appreciated the prompt and positive response of drug manufacturing industry in facing the crisis generated by the ban on ayurvedic medicines containing heavy metals.

''The industry is not dodging the issue. In fact, they are addressing the issue,'' he added.

As part of the efforts to popularise Ayurveda abroad, AYUSH has offered to provide technical cooperation to any country willing to evolve regulatory mechanism for teaching, practice and use of medicinal products of Indian medicine.

''We are getting enquiries from different countries in this regard,''" Mr Singh said.

He said Ayurveda would be made part of the National Rural Health Mission. The proposal is to have at least one ayurvedic centre in each health centre at the block level. Eventually, all the primary health centres (PHC) would have one ayurvedic centre.

''We have reached a stage where we call upon our trading partners the world over particularly the US, the European Union and other major Asian and African countries to put in place regulatory mechanisms for regulating teaching, practice and medicines of Ayurveda and the WHO guidelines on traditional medicine,'' Health Minister Anbhumani Ramadoss, who chaired a session at the World Health Assembly, said.

UNI