New Delhi, Dec 6 (UNI) The Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of AYUSH have decided to work together to set up an Export Promotion Council to boost AYUSH exports.
This decision was taken recently in a joint review of AYUSH trade and Industry by Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and Minister of AYUSH Shripad Naik where it was decided that the entire AYUSH sector will work together to achieve price and quality competitiveness to boost AYUSH exports.
Nearly 50 industry and trade leaders from the AYUSH sector took part in the review held through video conferencing on December 4. More than 2,000 stake-holders of the AYUSH Sector also attended the e-event through live streaming on virtual platforms.
It was decided that the Ministry of AYUSH and Ministry of Commerce and Industry will work together for establishing an AYUSH Export Promotion Council (AEPC). The proposed AEPC can be housed at Ministry of AYUSH.
Standardisation of HS code for AYUSH will be expedited and the Ministry of AYUSH will work in collaboration with Bureau of Indian standards to develop international standards for AYUSH products as well as services, an official release here said.
The Ministry of AYUSH and AYUSH industry will identify best practices/success stories and promote them among the public.
Importantly, the AYUSH industry will work on ensuring quality and standards of AYUSH products as well as to become price-competitive and
AYUSH will figure in the Brand India activities.
The AYUSH Secretary briefed about the various initiatives taken by the Ministry to mitigate the Covid 19 situation and to promote AYUSH industry. He spoke about the emerging opportunities for promotion of AYUSH sector and listed a few hurdles that deserved attention.
Mr Shripad Naik highlighted the growing global interest in AYUSH-based solutions for disease resistance and treatment during the difficult times of the Covid-19 pandemic and called for upscaling trade and commerce in the AYUSH sector in order to meet the growing demands from India and abroad, and to serve the larger number of people who are now looking up to these systems for maintaining their health.
He told the participants that the AYUSH immunity protocols and the National Clinical Management Protocol for Covid 19 for Ayurveda and Yoga were timely interventions which provided relief to large sections of the population. The emerging evidence of a correlation between the low Covid -19 mortality rates and largescale adoption of AYUSH prophylactic solutions by the population is significant for the public health practice in the country.
Mr Goyal referred to the spurt in exports of AYUSH products in recent months as a direct reflection of their growing popularity in many countries. Standardisation of the HS codes related to export would be considered on priority as a step to promote exports, he said and called upon the AYUSH Ministry to work in coordination with the Commerce and Finance Ministries to achieve this early.
The Commerce Minister also advised the industry leaders to work simultaneously on the quality and pricing of their products, so that they become increasingly competitive in the global market.
