Ministry of Ayush
Branch of Government of India | |
Ministry of Ayush | |
| Ministry overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 9 November 2014 |
| Jurisdiction | Government of India |
| Annual budget | ₹3,712.59 crore (US$440 million) (FY2024–25) |
| Minister responsible |
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| Ministry executive | |
| Website | ayush |
| Part of a series on |
| Alternative medicine |
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The Ministry of Ayush, a ministry of the Government of India, is responsible for developing education, research and propagation of traditional medicine and alternative medicine systems in India. Ayush is a name devised from the names of the alternative healthcare systems covered by the ministry: ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa, and homeopathy.
The Department of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy (ISM&H) was first established in 1995 under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. ISM&H was renamed as the Department of AYUSH. The department was made into an official ministry by the Modi government in 2014.
The ministry of Ayush has faced significant criticism for funding systems that lack biological plausibility and are either untested or conclusively proven as ineffective. Quality of research has been poor, and drugs have been launched without rigorous pharmacological studies and meaningful clinical trials on ayurveda or other alternative healthcare systems. The ministry has been accused of promoting pseudoscience.