India’s transformation into a global health powerhouse through Ayush and traditional medicine

The Ministry of Ayush has highlighted India’s emerging role as a global health powerhouse, with Ayush‑and‑traditional‑medicine systems being positioned as central pillars of the country’s integrative‑health and wellness‑economy vision. According to the PIB‑issued release around the National Arogya Fair 2026 in Shegaon, traditional and complementary systems, Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa‑Rigpa and Homoeopathy, are being mainstreamed within public‑health architecture, medical‑value‑tourism, and export‑oriented drug‑value‑chains.
The Government frames this push as part of a broader shift from disease‑management toward preventive and holistic health, where Ayush complements mainstream biomedicine rather than competing with it. The fair itself showcased a wide range of Ayush‑based diagnostics, therapy‑modules, and wellness‑services, underscoring efforts to standardise quality, scale research, and integrate traditional‑medicine practices into formal‑health‑system workflows. The Ministry emphasises that this ecosystem is being built on four pillars: education and workforce development, scientific research, quality assurance, and global‑market access.
Among recent policy‑anchors, the Union Budget 2026 has strengthened Ayush‑centric measures, including the creation of new All India Institutes of Ayurveda (AIIAs), the upgradation of Ayush pharmacies and drug‑testing laboratories, and the integration of Ayush wellness‑centres into regional Medical Value Tourism (MVT) hubs. The Government also highlights the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre at Jamnagar as a platform to deepen international collaboration, training, and evidence‑based research in traditional‑medicine systems, further reinforcing India’s image as a global‑knowledge hub for holistic healthcare.
The PIB release notes that these initiatives link health‑policy with rural‑livelihoods, export‑growth, youth‑employment, and entrepreneurship, particularly in the cultivation of medicinal‑plants and MSME‑driven Ayush‑product manufacturing. Ayush‑centric wellness tourism, yoga‑and‑lifestyle‑therapy programmes, and standardised, export‑ready traditional‑medicine products are being positioned as scalable economic‑value‑streams while aligning with India’s broader narrative of Viksit Bharat and global health‑diplomacy leadership.