The Indian Lok Sabha has passed the Institute of Teaching and
Research in Ayurveda bill 2020, which provides for setting up of a research
institution of national importance in Gujarat.

During the discussion in the lower house on Thursday, Minister
of State for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik said the initiative will pave the way for
establishing 11 institutes of national importance across the country, including
in the Kerala capital of Thiruvananthapuram.

The bill now awaits approval of Rajya Sabha before it can be
implemented. It seeks to conglomerate the Institute for Post Graduate Teaching
and Research in Ayurveda, Shree Gulabkunverba Ayurved Mahavidyalaya, and the
Indian Institute of Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Sciences, all located in the
Gujarat Ayurved University campus at Jamnagar, by establishing them as one
institution and confer it the status of Institution of National Importance.

“The Institute of national importance will be a centre for
promotion of quality and excellence in education, research and training in the
field of Ayurveda and allied disciplines,” Naik said while assuring that the
demand to upgrade Ayurveda Institutes in Kerala and Arunachal Pradesh would be
considered at an appropriate stage.

He added the Ayurveda treatment would be brought under the
Insurance cover.

Earlier, senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor stressed the need
for credible documentation of evidence-based research in the field of Ayurveda.

BJP MP Poonamben Maadam observed that the global market for
Ayurvedic products is estimated to reach around USD 10 billion by 2022. “.. the
creation of a specialised Ayurveda Institute will give official recognition to
Ayurveda at the International platform,” she said.