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Ayush industry differs with doctors on Bridge Course proposal in the National Medical Commission Bill
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Arun Srinivasan, New Delhi
January 27 , 2018
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The Bridge Course proposal in the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill
that gives practitioners of Ayush system of medicine green signal to
take up modern medicine will take the sheen off the country’s herbal and
traditional products industry and may prove detrimental to the
healthcare system, industry representatives say.
However, the
industry’s stance is contradictory to the views voiced by the Ayush
doctors who are up in arms across the country over the delay in
implementing the controversial proposal. After a short lull, the issue
is hitting the headlines again with hundreds of Ayush doctors taking out
protest marches in Indore and Guwahati during the last two days along
with representatives from other northeastern states.
“We bank on
Ayush practitioners to promote our products. A doctor trained in
another system of medicine won’t understand the basic principles of
Ayurveda or any other alternative healing system. A crossover will
backfire and only hurt the industry,” Shashank Sandu, Joint Secretary of
Ayurvedic Drug Manufacturers Association (ADMA) told Pharmabiz. The
association is the apex body of the ayurvedic industry and its members
cumulatively contribute more than 80 per cent of the ayurvedic commerce
in India.
The argument that the proposed short-term course will
help tackle shortage of doctors also finds few takers in the industry.
While the doctor-population ratio according to the World Health
Organistion norms should be 1:1,000, it is 1:1674 in India. The shortage
is more pronounced in the rural areas.
“Thousands of Ayush
practitioners are already providing basic medical services in villages
and remote areas. They learn an alternative system of medicine for
five-six years. Now allowing them to practise a different stream of
medicine after a six-month crash course will be ultimately
self-defeating,” another industry official opined.
Industry
representatives are also skeptical about the enthusiasm of Ayush doctors
to embrace the bridge course though many welcome the integration of
various streams of medicine. “I think both systems can be integrated.
For instance, triphala, an ayurvedic rasayan formula, is found to be
effective in dealing with the side effects of chemotherapy. But allowing
Ayush practitioners to practice modern medicine may only promote
quackery,” a Delhi-based ayurvedic products manufacturer and exporter
said on condition of anonymity.
According to official data, the
number of people practising alternative systems of healing is on the
rise in the country. Ayush minister Shripad Naik had told Lok Sabha
recently that in the past two years there has been about 5 per cent
increase. However, industry sources point out that once the bridge
course proposal materialises, many of these practitioners will
immediately shift focus to modern medicine.
India, with a wealth
of 6,600 medicinal plants, is the second largest exporter of Ayush and
herbal products in the world. According to various surveys, the Ayush
industry would touch Rs. 1.4 trillion by
2020 and might grow in double digits by providing direct employment to
one million and indirect jobs to 25 million by 2020. The products market
itself is worth about Rs. 40 billion with over-the-counter products such as digestives, health food and pain balms constituting 75 per cent the segment.
India
has 9,000 units engaged in the manufacture of Ayush drugs. The export
of Ayush products is also on the rise with worth of shipments, including
extracts of medicinal herbs, crossing $403 million in 2016-17.
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