AYUSH Ministry sets up research institute to boost Ayurveda

New Delhi, December 19: Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) for undertaking coordinating formulating, developing and promoting research on scientific lines in Ayurveda is set up by The Ministry of AYUSH.

The activities are carried out through 30 institute/Centres/Units under CCRAS located all over India and also through collaborative studies with various universities, hospitals and institutes. The research activities of the council include medicinal plant research (Medico-ethno botanical survey, pharmacognosy and tissue culture), Drug Standardization Pharmacological Research, Clinical Research, Literary Research & Documentation, and other outreach activities

One research institute viz. Regional Ayurveda Research Institute for Skin Disorders, is functioning in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. However, the scope of the Research undertaken by the Institutes of CCRAS is spread over the entire country and is not confined to the states of Gujarat or Jharkhand as it is in the public domain for the benefit of all the citizens of the country.

AYUSH stands for traditional systems of medicine and healthcare such as Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy.

With a wealth of 6,600 medicinal plants, India is the second largest exporter of AYUSH and herbal products in the world. We now have the opportunity to mainstream the Indian system of medicine and integrate the AYUSH infrastructure into Indian healthcare system.