Centre to soon introduce ‘Ayush Visa’ for foreign nationals

The Centre would soon introduce a special Ayush visa category for foreign nationals who want to come to India to take advantage of traditional medicine, as part of initiatives to promote medical tourism.

What is the concept of AYUSH VISA?

• AYUSH Visa aims to help all those individuals who are looking to come to India for seeking traditional treatments.
• The AYUSH wellness centres would attract a lot of visitors from across the world thus boosting the country’s economy.

About AYUSH Mark

• To promote the traditional medicine industry, India will soon launch `AYUSH mark' which will give authenticity to quality AYUSH products made in the country.
• After the introduction of the AYUSH mark, products will be thoroughly vetted using the latest technology to check and maintain its quality.
• ISO standards are being developed by the experts of AYUSH in association with the Bureau of Indian Standards with the objective of creating an export market across 150 countries in the world.

National AYUSH Mission

• India possess an unmatched heritage represented by its ancient systems of medicine like ASU&H which are a treasure house of knowledge for preventive and promotive healthcare.
• The positive features of the Indian systems of medicine namely their
  • diversity and flexibility
  • accessibility
  • affordability
  • a broad acceptance by a large section of the general public
  • comparatively lesser cost and growing economic value
  • have great potential to make them providers of healthcare that the large sections of people need
• Keeping this importance in mind, the government of India launched the National AYUSH Mission (NAM).
  • The proposed Mission addresses the gaps in health services through supporting the efforts of State/UT Governments for providing AYUSH health services/education in the country, particularly in vulnerable and far-flung areas.
  • Special focus is given for specific needs of such areas and for allocation of higher resources in their Annual Plans. 

Objective of the mission

• To provide cost effective AYUSH Services, with a universal access through upgrading AYUSH Hospitals and Dispensaries, co-location of AYUSH facilities at Primary Health Centres (PHCs), Community Health Centres (CHCs) and District Hospitals (DHs).
• To strengthen institutional capacity at the state level through upgrading AYUSH educational institutions, State Govt. ASU&H Pharmacies, Drug Testing Laboratories and ASU & H enforcement mechanism.
• Support cultivation of medicinal plants by adopting Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) so as to provide sustained supply of quality rawmaterials and support certification mechanism for quality standards, Good Agricultural/Collection/Storage Practices.
• Support setting up of clusters through convergence of cultivation, warehousing, value addition and marketing and development of infrastructure for entrepreneurs.