INDIA'S TRADITIONAL systems of medicine have seen increased focus in the last decade. The country currently relies on the practitioners of these systems, dubbed AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy and Sowa Rigpa), to improve healthcare coverage.
Last July, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Bharati Pravin Pawar, announced in the Rajya Sabha that the country had reached a doctor-population ratio of 1:834, which is better than the World Health Organization (WHO)'s recommended ratio of 1:1,000. This ratio, said Pawar, was achieved by "assuming 80 per cent availability of registered allopathic doctors [a total of 1.3 million] and 565,000 AYUSH doctors" in the country.
If one were to only consider 80 per cent availability of the 1.3 million allopathic doctors for a population of 1.24 billion (as per Census 2011), the doctor-patient ratio would translate to 1:1,194, notes a December 2022 article in The Print.
Even as the Centre bets big on AYUSH practitioners-a majority of whom practise Ayurveda-the system currently in place in the country only raises concerns, particularly on the quality of education offered.
QUESTION OF STANDARD
Dedicated Ayurveda colleges in India have been on a rise, from 35 colleges in the 1940s to 453 colleges as of May 2022, says data with the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) under the Union AYUSH ministry. Of these, 352 institutes are private. However, these colleges are currently set up via a procedure that even the government has repeatedly questioned over the last two decades.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 16, 2023 من Down To Earth.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 16, 2023 من Down To Earth.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Vision 2030
Economic growth must take into account needs of energy transition, climate mitigation, with action aligned as per India's 2030 climate goals
FIX OUR FOOD
Chemical-dependent farming, lax labelling laws, rising anti-microbial resistance must top the agenda
BATTLE THE CAR BULGE
Clean, affordable, integrated and accessible public transport the only solution
CONSERVE NOW
Disregard for biodiversity conservation over the past two decades needs immediate redressal
SCRAP THE DUMP
Disincentivise garbage dumping, invest in behavioural change
PLAN THEM COOL
As urban India turns into a heat trap, the government must focus on improving cities' liveability
THINK LONG-TERM
India needs continued emphasis on flagship programmes, aligned to long-term planning that focusses on water security and circular economy in a climate-risked era
OVERHAUL OVERDUE
Hold polluting industries accountable for public health risks, environmental hazards, climate change; provide them support for green transition
LOOK BEYOND DUST
Reinvent National Clean Air Programme to focus on fine particulate matter and trans-boundary pollution
IT'S NOW OR NEVER
Clean energy sectors need demand-driven markets and domestic industries that can cater to the entire value chain