India’s efforts to strengthen the scientific credibility and global acceptance of Ayurveda received a boost with the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop quality standards, conformity assessment systems, research protocols and capacity-building initiatives for the Ayush sector.

The agreement brings together the Ministry of Ayush’s apex research organisation and India’s national standards body, to integrate traditional Ayurvedic knowledge with internationally recognised systems of quality assurance and scientific validation.

The MoU was signed by CCRAS Director General Prof. (Vaidya) Rabinarayan Acharya and BIS Deputy Director General (Standardisation-II) Sanjay Pant in the presence of Ayush Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha on August 7 in New Delhi.

The partnership will focus on developing standards for Ayurveda and other Ayush systems, strengthening laboratory quality and conformity assessment mechanisms, and promoting scientific validation of traditional knowledge. It is also expected to enhance India’s participation in international standardisation initiatives.

Kotecha described quality as the foundation of credibility and said the collaboration could help create robust, science-driven standards for Ayurveda. Such standards, he noted, would strengthen public confidence, encourage innovation and reinforce India’s leadership in evidence-based traditional medicine.

For CCRAS, the agreement builds on its ongoing efforts to align research and laboratory practices with internationally recognised quality systems. Acharya said several CCRAS institutes and laboratories are already accredited under NABL and ISO standards. The partnership with BIS, he added, would further improve research standardisation, laboratory practices and the development of scientifically validated benchmarks benefiting researchers, industry and the public.

The MoU also marks a significant milestone for BIS. According to Pant, it is the organisation’s 100th memorandum of understanding and its first with an Ayush organisation.

Pant said the scientific expertise of CCRAS researchers would strengthen the standards-development process. He said CCRAS scientists could serve as Project Leaders, helping accelerate the formulation of robust Indian Standards for Ayurveda.

The scale of standards development in the sector underlines the potential significance of the collaboration. Dr. Raghavendra Naik of the BIS Ayush Department said 128 Indian Standards are currently under the Ayurveda Sectional Committee, while 243 standards covering different Ayush domains have been developed over the past three years.

Vaidya Jayant Deopujari, Chairperson of the BIS Ayurveda Sectional Committee, said scientific standardisation was essential to building confidence in Ayurveda at both national and international levels. The partnership, he said, combines research expertise with standards-setting capabilities to create a stronger framework for quality assurance.

Officials from both organisations attended the signing, while scientists and officers from all 30 peripheral CCRAS institutes and centres joined virtually.

The agreement comes as Ayurveda seeks wider acceptance beyond India. Its broader significance lies in an attempt to make traditional knowledge more measurable, verifiable and compatible with global quality systems—potentially giving Indian Ayurveda a stronger foundation for international recognition.

Reference: PIB