Ayurveda-Biology now subject in NET, experts raise concerns

The University Grants Commission (UGC) officially introduced "Ayurveda Biology" as a new subject in the National Eligibility Test (NET) on Thursday, a move it said was meant to bridge traditional Indian medicine with modern biological sciences, but experts warned it could dilute academic standards and create confusion in the job market.

- Vrinda Tulsian

The new subject will be available for examination starting December 2024, following recommendations made during the 581st meeting of the Commission on June 25, 2024. The NET exam, conducted twice yearly, determines eligibility for assistant professor positions and junior research fellowships in Indian universities.

UGC chairman M Jagadesh Kumar said the initiative aims to modernise the study of traditional medicine. "When MSc scholars come in and they do their PhD in Ayurveda Biology, they can go to the universities and teach ayurveda biology. We are trying to understand our ancient medical system from the modern molecular biologist approach and see what new solutions can be designed to make medicine and medical systems approachable," he said.

The 10-unit syllabus attempts to merge ancient Ayurvedic concepts with contemporary biological sciences. For instance, Unit 7 introduces "Ayurgenomics," proposing to study traditional dosha-prakrti (body constitution types) through modern genetic analysis and "multi-omic" approaches. However, many of these correlations remain in early research phases and await rigorous scientific validation.