Ayush sector set to grow to $24 billion this year: AYUSH secretary Rajesh Kotecha

Ahead of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Summit scheduled to take place at Gandhinagar, Gujarat on August 17 and 18, the AYUSH secretary said the summit will set the tone for future activities of the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine located at Jamnagar.

4 min readPuneUpdated: Aug 17, 2023 01:14 AM IST

“There is a huge response to the AYUSH-based health and wellness centres," Rajesh Kotecha, secretary, Ministry of AYUSH, said. (Twitter/@airdelhi)

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Ayush sector set to grow to $24 billion this year: AYUSH secretary Rajesh Kotecha

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The production of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy medicines and supplements has seen exponential growth from more than $3 billion in 2014 to $18 billion in 2020 and is anticipated to reach $24 billion in 2023, Rajesh Kotecha, secretary, Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India, told The Indian Express.

Ahead of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Summit scheduled to take place at Gandhinagar, Gujarat on August 17 and 18, the AYUSH secretary said the summit will set the tone for future activities of the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine located at Jamnagar.

The Global Summit is being co-hosted by the WHO and the Government of India which holds the presidency of the G20 in 2023.

According to Kotecha, experts from more than 90 countries will attend the summit and it will be a platform for all stakeholders including policymakers, academics, researchers, and the private sector to share best practices and evidence, data, and innovation on the contribution of traditional medicine to health and sustainable development.

“There is a huge response to the AYUSH-based health and wellness centres. Presently, 7,000 such centres are operational and data from states (Jan 1 to December 2022) indicate that 8.42 crore patients have availed of services,” Kotecha said.

At the Summit, the WHO will present emerging findings from the third global survey on traditional medicine, which, for the first time, includes questions on the financing of traditional and complementary medicine, health of indigenous peoples, quality assurance, traditional medicine knowledge, biodiversity, trade, integration, patient safety, and more. The complete survey, which will be released later in the year, first on an interactive online dashboard and then as a report, will inform the development of WHO’s updated traditional medicine strategy 2025-2034 as requested by the World Health Assembly in May 2023.

Earlier, the WHO had appointed 11 experts in traditional medicine, public health, and policy including former UGC vice chairman Bhushan Patwardhan as a co-chair to its external advisory group to provide strategic and technical advice for the maiden Global Traditional Medicine Summit. The other co-chair is L Susan Wieland, Director of Cochrane Complementary Medicine, USA.

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When contacted via email, Dr Shyama Kuruvilla, WHO lead for the Global Traditional Medicine Centre and the Summit, told The Indian Express that the WHO is working with its member states on standards and benchmarks for different traditional medicine systems and their evidence-based integration in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). The ICD allows countries to count and identify their most pressing health issues, and it does not include, refer to, or endorse any therapy.

“The inclusion of a supplementary chapter on traditional medicine conditions in ICD will, for the first time, enable counting of traditional medicine services and encounters, measurement of their form, frequency, effectiveness, safety, quality, outcomes, and cost. It will inform regulations, and allow comparison with mainstream medicine and research due to standardised terms and definitions nationally and internationally,” Dr Kuruvilla said.

Dr Kuruvilla also pointed out that around 40 per cent of pharmaceutical products today have a natural product basis, and landmark drugs derive from traditional medicine. “Taking clues from traditional uses, new clinically effective drugs can be identified through research methods such as ethnopharmacology and reverse pharmacology. Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a game-changer, revolutionizing the study and practice of traditional healing systems – AI’s advanced algorithms and machine-learning capabilities can allow researchers to explore extensive traditional medical knowledge, map evidence, and identify once elusive trends,” Dr Kuruvilla added.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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