The first exclusive all-India survey on ‘Ayush’ was conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) from July 2022 to June 2023. The survey report has revealed that Ayurveda is the most commonly used system across both rural and urban areas for treatment.
Approximately 95% of rural and 96% of urban respondents are aware of Ayush. About 85% of rural and 86% of urban households have at least one member who is aware of medicinal plants and local medical traditions. Around 46% of rural and 53% of urban individuals used Ayush, predominantly for rejuvenation and preventive measures, in the past 365 days, the survey said.
The survey also found out that on average an individual spent Rs 394 on Ayush treatment in urban areas while in the rural areas, this was Rs 499 per person. The information was collected from 1,81,298 households, including 1,04,195 in rural areas and 77,103 in urban areas.
The broad objectives of the survey were to collect information on the awareness of people about the traditional system of healthcare, uses of Ayush for prevention or treatment of ailments, and the awareness of the households about home remedies, medicinal plants, and local health tradition/folk medicine.
The Ayush treatment in the survey included the use of Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homeopathy on the advice of a medical practitioner, or as home-based remedies used by a member of the household knowing the preventive or beneficial effects of the medication.
