Strategic Roadmap for Making Ayurveda Global

Prelims: Current events of national and international importance | Governance

Why in News?

On July 2, 2026, NITI Aayog released a landmark report titled "Strategic Roadmap for Making Ayurveda Global."

Current Global Footprint

Export Growth - India's Ayush and herbal exports increased from $1.09 billion in 2014 to $2.16 billion in 2023, covering over 150 countries.
Global Recognition - Ayurveda, along with Siddha and Unani systems, is integrated into the WHO International Classification of Diseases-11 (ICD-11) under the Traditional Medicine module.
It is recognized as an official medical discipline in nearly 30 countries (e.g., UAE, Switzerland).
Despite over 355,000 qualified practitioners in India, 95% remain within the country.
It faces tough competition from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which has a vastly dominant global export share and licensed workforce.

NITI Aayog’s Three-Pillar Framework

Global Ayurveda Register (GAR) - A digital, WHO-aligned credentialing and Continuous Professional Development (CPD) system
- Under the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) to facilitate foreign practitioner licensure.
Ayurvedic Trade Infrastructure - Launch of a real-time Ayurveda Trade Dashboard using precise Harmonized System (HS) codes to track and leverage Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).
Standardized Sourcing - Enforcing Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP) to eliminate heavy metals, pesticides, and microbial contaminants at the source.

Export Edition Pharmacopoeia - Creating an exclusive international edition of the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia to establish chemical profiling and batch-to-batch consistency.
Manufacturing Upgrades - Fast-tracking compliance of domestic units with WHO-Good Manufacturing Practices (WHO-GMP) standards.
Evidence-Based Localization - Conducting multi-country clinical trials via WHO Collaborating Centres to bridge the traditional "evidence gap" and move products from the "dietary supplement" tag to formal therapeutic drug classification.

Medical Value Travel (MVT) - Establishing international Ayurveda MVT hubs (starting with Mauritius) integrated with Ayush Visa packages, diagnostics, and tele-consultation support.
Global Forums - Proposing a World Federation for Ayurveda and Yoga and modernising India's Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) to secure intellectual property (IP) rights and prevent biopiracy.

Implementation Roadmap

Short-Term (Up to 2029) - Focus on institutional foundation-building, deploying the Global Ayurveda Register, and establishing quality testing protocols.
Medium-Term (Up to 2035) - Market integration through mutual recognition arrangements (MRAs) with regional blocs (G20, BRICS, and ASEAN) and introducing Ayurveda electives in global medical institutes.
Long-Term (Up to 2047) - Achieving formal integration of Ayurveda into at least 20 national health systems and securing insurance coverage for defined Ayurvedic indications in at least 10 countries.

Reference

Economic Times | Strategic roadmap to make Ayurveda global