National Policy on ISM in India

1.2 National Policy on ISM in India 

One of the most important requirements for any system to play a meaningful role in the health care of a country is for that system to receive due recognition from the government. In India, the highest policymaking body regarding the matters concerned with health and family welfare is the Central Council for Health and Family Welfare, set up under Article 226 of the constitution of India. It consists of central health ministers, state health ministers, eminent health experts, nongovernmental organizations with an interest in the health sector, and officials of the central and state governments. It strongly advocates systematic use of the ISM in the primary and secondary infrastructure. In its last meeting, the Council recommended that at least one physician from the ISM and Homeopathy (ISM & H) should be available in every primary health center. Further, it was also resolved to introduce special treatment centers for ISM & H in rural hospitals and to create a wing for these systems in the existing state and district level government hospitals. 

The government of India has taken up the matter quite seriously and drafted a national policy on traditional systems practiced in India (www.indianmedicine.nic.in).3 The policy provides comprehensive coverage of different sectors. Feedback and suggestions have been collected from concerned organizations. This will form the basic material to frame the National Policy after completing the process of consulting different state governments and different ministries of government of India. Some highlights of the draft policy are as follows: 

• It addresses the system in the areas of current relevance while at the same time delineating the immense opportunities that lay ahead. 

• It plans to build upon the positive features of ISM & H, which are their modest cost, low level of technological input, and growing popularity. There is a possibility of expansion of activity in a wide range of related fields. To maximize utilization of this opportunity a range of strategies has been recommended. 

• It seeks to revamp the curriculum of the educational institutes to reorient the approach of the practitioners of these systems to increase their relevance, credi- bility, and professionalism. 

• It strongly advocates enforcement of good manufacturing practices (GMP) by placing acceptable levels of regulation and enforcement covering manufacture and certification of drugs. 

• Several measures have been mentioned for the scientific and sustainable utilization of the medicinal plant-based resources of the country. It advocates adoption of a collaborative approach. Emphasis has been placed on utilizing the experience and scientific base available in the research councils of the country; for example, the Central Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR), and institutes under the Department of Science and Technology. 

• To protect the intellectual property rights (IPR) of the resources of this sector, creation of an extensive database and a traditional knowledge digital library (TKDL) has been advocated. 

• It also highlights the importance of utilization of local health traditions in the national health-care programs. It seeks to provide support of the operational research studies and efficacy trials for this purpose. 

• The policy encourages propagation of Ayurveda and other ISM throughout the world, especially in areas where there is special interest in these systems, through Indian missions abroad. This policy will promote creation of a larger constituency for the practitioners of these systems. Promoting ISM as part of health tourism is being planned. Other approaches include international collaboration and academic exchange between interested groups. 

• It has been strongly recommended that there should be an increase in the share of ISM in the national health budget. 

• The policy also seeks to involve and promote the importance of ISM physicians in various national health programs. 

• It seeks to establish and build the credibility of the ISM sector by encouraging certification and establishment of quality marking of products to allay the concern expressed in some quarters about the quality, safety, and efficacy of the products used. 

• It recommends effecting policy changes to cover nutraceuticals and food supplements. The Drugs and Cosmetic Act would be amended to cover intermediates and partially processed plant-based products. The enactment of the ISM Product Information Promotion and Regulation Act is under consideration. 

• There will be policy support and taxation incentives to promote high standards of manufacture. 

• It seeks to support evidence-based research to determine the efficacy of ISM drugs and therapies, generation of data on safety and efficacy, along with standardization. 

• There will be strong encouragement for undertaking research on basic principles of Ayurveda and the medico-historical approach. 

There is a feeling that formulation of a national policy has been delayed inordinately; however, the fact that a comprehensive draft has been prepared and is being circulated among all the agencies involved in its implementation indicates that the matter has been taken seriously and there will be a discernible change in the Ayurvedic sector for the better in the future. The fact that such a detailed draft policy has been prepared and the government of India has initiated steps to enforce GMP in the ISM drug-manufacturing sector clearly indicates that it is earnest in its desire to develop and ensure mainstreaming of the ISM sector and its practitioners. The expenditure in this sector has gradually and significantly increased from Rs. 21683.60 million (US $433.66 million) in 1996–1997 to Rs. 40792.60 million (US $815.95 million) in 2000–2001. 

Soure: Lakshmi chandra Mishra, scientific Basis for Ayurvedic Therapies; 2004 by CRC Press LLC