towards the systematic development of this system and recorded their experiences in Tamil
language.
Homoeopathy
The physicians from the time of Hippocrates (around 400 B.C.) had observed that certain
substances could produce symptoms of a disease in healthy people similar to those of people
suffering from the disease. Dr. Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician
scientifically examined this phenomenon and codified the fundamental principles of
Homoeopathy. Homoeopathy was brought into India around 1810 A.D. by European
missionaries and received official recognition by a Resolution passed by the Constituent
Assembly in 1948 and then by the Parliament.
Sowa-Rigpa
Sowa-Rigpa is among the oldest surviving health traditions of the world with a living
history of more than 2500 years. It has been in vogue and practised in Himalayan regions
throughout particularly in Leh and Laddakh (J&K), Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh,
Sikkim, Darjeeling, etc. Sowa-Rigpa is effective in managing chronic diseases like asthma,
bronchitis, arthritis, etc. The basic theory of Sowa-Rigpa is explained in terms of (i)the body and
the mind as the locus of treatment; (ii)antidote, i.e., the treatment;(iii) the method of treatment
through antidote;(iv)medicines that cure the disease and lastly (v) pharmacology. Sowa-Rigpa
emphasizes the importance of the five cosmological physical elements in the formation of the
human body, the nature of disorders and the remedial measures.
Ayush Healthcare Infrastructure
National AYUSH Mission (NAM) was notified in 2014 which envisages better access to
AYUSH services including co-location of AYUSH facilities at Primary Health Centres (PHCs),
Community Health Centres (CHCs) and District Hospitals(DHs), upgradation of existing
Government AYUSH Hospitals, upgradation of existing government/ panchayat/ government
aided AYUSH dispensaries and setting up of upto 50 bedded integrated AYUSH hospitals. It
also envisages strengthening of AYUSH educational institutions, facilitate the enforcement of
quality control of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy (ASU &H) drugs and sustainable
availability of ASU & H raw-materials in the States/UTs during 12th Plan.
Ayush Drug Quality Control
Ministry of AYUSH has a Drug Control Cell to look after and co-ordinate in matters related
to Ayurvedic, Siddha , Unani and homoeopathy (ASU&H) drugs. In addition, the Ministry has
taken up amendment of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 for promoting scientific data based
shelf life studies and prohibition of the use of prefix and suffix with the names of classical
formulations. Under the centrally sponsored initiative of the National AYUSH Mission, grant-in-
aid is provided to the states for strengthening of infrastructural, functional and regulatory
capacity for manufacturing and testing of drugs and enforcement of the regulatory provisions.
Capacity building programmes for the regulatory and scientific staff of the states are regularly
organized at the Pharmacopoeial Laboratory of Indian Medicine (PLIM) and the Homoeopathy
Pharmacopoeial Laboratory (HPL).
Medical Education in Ayush