National AYUSH Mission (NAM)

Policy Update

Vanshika Khanna

Background

The National AYUSH Mission was launched by the Government of India in 2014 with the vision of promoting and advancing Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy (AYUSH). The program aims to provide cost-effective healthcare by prioritising AYUSH systems and aligning them with public health infrastructure.

Stated Objectives:

The scheme is focused on creating a health and wellness model through the establishment of AYUSH Health and Wellness Centres.
These centres aim to reduce the burden of patient expenses by promoting preventive healthcare.
It aims to enhance the infrastructure and quality of educational institutions for AYUSH to ensure a skilled workforce.

Functioning

The Union Cabinet approved the operationalisation of 12,500 AYUSH Health and Wellness Centres (AHWCs) components, with a budget of Rs. 3,399.35 Crores, for a period of 5 years up to 2023-24. This was further extended until 2026, with an allocation of Rs. 4607.30 crores (Rs. 3000.00 crores as the Central Share and Rs. 1607.30 crores as the State Share), effective from 2021 to 2026, excluding the AYUSH Health and Wellness Centres (AHWCs) component.

Performance

Year	Budget ( in Crores)
2014 – 2015	1272. 15
2015 – 2016	1214.00
2016 – 2017	1326.00
2017 – 2018	1428.65
2018 – 2019	1626.37
2019-2020	1939.76
2020-2021	2122.08
2021-2022	2970.30
2022-2023	3050.00
2023-2024	3647.50

Year	Beneficiaries ( in crores)
2017- 18	2.5
2018-19	3.6
2019- 20	3.95
2020- 21	4.32
2021- 22	5.48

(Source: Ministry of AYUSH, Report- 2014- 2024)

Impact

The mission’s budget has tripled from 2014-15 to 2023-2024, highlighting a strong commitment to advancing this scheme. This increased investment is complemented by a significant surge in the number of beneficiaries, which has increased from 2.5 crore in 2017-18 to 5.48 crore in 2021-22.

Increased funding for this mission has enabled expansion of AYUSH healthcare infrastructure, research, and educational initiatives. The mission has integrated with national health programs such as Poshan Abhiyaan, NPCDCS, and Suposhit Bharat, strengthening its role in nutrition, maternal health, and chronic disease management. Special programs have been launched for tribal, women and children’s wellness.

Integration with technology that has enabled the functioning of apps like M-Yoga, Y-Break and e-Aushadhi for drug supply chain management.
The scheme’s medical products have been exported to more than 150 countries.
MoUs have been signed with 24 countries, and 46 collaborative research partnerships have been established.
39 AYUSH information cells are now operational across 35 countries.
India has positioned itself as a global leader in traditional medicine at the WHO forums.
To leverage India’s soft power, the International Day of Yoga is being promoted aggressively.

Emerging Issues

The most consistent issue that has emerged is the underutilization of funds every year despite growing fund allocations. For FY 2023-24, the mission spent just 74% of the revised estimate by January, highlighting a continued trend of underutilisation, leading to delayed progress. Regional disparity in the implementation of this scheme is also visible, especially in the Northeast, where the government has stated that cultural, ethnic and linguistic hurdles pose a barrier. A lack of efforts to ensure equal implementation of the scheme can further lead to concerns about the efficiency of the scheme. Another crucial factor is the integration of the scheme with scientific tests and trials to ensure the standard of healthcare is maintained, which is necessary to gain trust and legitimacy in the court of public opinion.

Way Forward

The scheme’s future depends on transforming policy into practice by utilising funding and adopting global standardisation to gain public legitimacy and maintain integrity. It is equally important to flag non-scientific medical advice and the spread of misinformation, which pose a threat to life. The dissemination of knowledge related to the AYUSH scheme should be regulated and backed by scientific bodies to ensure safety that fosters well-being and not fear and false information.

References

Business Standard. (2024, February 18). Ministry rapped for underutilisation of funds in the National AYUSH Mission. Business Standard. https://www.business-standard.com/economy/news/ministry-rapped-for-underutilisation-of-funds-in-national-ayush-mission-124021800567_1.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Ministry of Ayush. (n.d.). A Decade of Transformative Growth in Ayush, 2014-2024. https://ayush.gov.in/resources/pdf/annualReport/DecadeAyushReport.pdf
National AYUSH Mission. (n.d.). Organisational Structure. https://namayush.gov.in/content/organizational-structure

About the Contributor

Vanshika Khanna is a Research Intern at IMPRI, having completed a Bachelor of Arts ( Research) in International Relations from Shiv Nadar University, Delhi.