Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation two future-ready Ayurveda institutions on the occasion of the fifth World Ayurveda Day on November 13, 2020.

The Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA), Jamnagar, and the National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA), Jaipur, in their revamped avatars, are expected to address the growing global demand for adopting the potential of traditional healthcare wisdom to address some of the pressing healthcare challenges of today.

The Government of India has conferred the status of Institution of National Importance (INI) by an act of parliament to the erstwhile Institute of PG Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (IPGTRA), Jamnagar, by conglomerating the cluster of Ayurveda institutions at the Gujarat Ayurveda University campus, Jamnagar.

Elevation of the institute to the INI status will provide it the autonomy to upgrade the standard of Ayurveda education, frame various courses as per national and international demands, adopt advanced evaluation methodology and excel in research to generate more and more evidences.

The strengthening of Ayurveda could lead to cost-effective solutions, thanks to its preventive and curative approaches reducing government expenditure on health.

The potential role of Ayurveda in management of Covid-19 pandemic will be the focus of this year's ‘Ayurveda Day’ observation. The aim of celebrating the occasion is to focus on strengths of Ayurveda and its unique treatment principles, to work towards reducing the burden of disease and related mortality by utilising the potential of Ayurveda, to tap into the potential of Ayurveda to contribute towards National Health Policy and National Health programmes, and to promote Ayurvedic principles of healing in society, the Ayush Ministry said in a statement.