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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: India has embarked on an ambitious interdisciplinary programme for integration of Ayurveda with technology through collaborations with leading institutions within and outside the country, Manoj Nesary, Adviser, Ayurveda, Ministry of Ayush, has said.

Addressing a panel discussion on on the theme ‘Ayurswasthya’, held as part of One Week One Lab (OWOL) Programme, at the CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST) here on Tuesday, Mr. Nesary said that since the approach of Ayurveda was interdisciplinary, it could easily integrate itself with proper scientific and technological processes, including those relating to biophysics and biotechnology.

“Ayurveda goes beyond the science of life and even anticipates environmental challenges like global warming and its impact on the health of living beings. But for today’s world to understand and use Ayurveda, technology integration is very much needed,” he said.

Other speakers at the panel discussion said the time-tested Indian traditional system of medicine could play a vital role in addressing even serious health challenges by adopting appropriate scientific and technological methods and platforms without diluting the fundamentals for the validation and regulation of drugs and procedures. Technology and scientific processes should be leveraged to establish Ayurveda as a holistic, sustainable, and affordable wellness solution for the whole world, they said.

Radha Rangarajan, Director, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, said collaborations between open-minded researchers and practitioners from Ayurveda, western medicine, and biomedical scientists, were needed to deliver a truly integrated wellness experience.

Emphasising the need to promote research in Ayurveda in the context of modern science, Dr. Rangarajan, said identifying the right methodologies, broad basing clinical trials, and greater focus on efficacy and safety were critical in this process.

Referring to the initiatives of Kerala in promoting Ayurveda, Keshvendra Kumar, Special Secretary, Ayush, Government of Kerala, said the upcoming International Centre for Research in Ayurveda in Kannur would be a major facility for advanced research in collaboration with CSIR-NIIST.

C. Anandharamakrishnan, Director, CSIR-NIIST, said that the Centre of Excellence for validation and scientific incubation, coming up under the institute, would go a long way in providing support to Ayurvedic drug manufacturers and institutions.

Three MoUs were exchanged, facilitating commercialisation of technologies developed by CSIR-NIIST, at the function.

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