The Evolving Ages of Ayurveda

Ayurveda is age old science which literally means knowledge about life. This is oldest known health care system ever known to humankind and today it is increasingly becoming mainstream. Ayurveda has both preventative and curative system of medicine and cure which means it has the opportunity to reach every single life.

Ayurveda- The Age Old Science
Ayurveda got first institutionalised in 1974 with establishment of Central Council of Indian Medicine which regulates over 250 Ayurveda and other Indian system of medicine and medical colleges. Over 20000 qualified Bachelors of Ayurveda medicine and Surgery graduates enter the mainstream every year. 70% rural mass of India is primarily served by Ayurveda physicians. Ayurveda has two kinds of medicine, DravyaGuna and Rasa. DravyaGuna are herb based medicine and Rasa medicines are metal or bhasma based. Standardization in Ayurveda has been a problem but various institutions of excellence are working to make this happen. All India Institute of Ayurveda, AIIMS, CCRAS, Medanta the medicity, NirogStreet are some of the institutions which are doing cutting edge research in Ayurveda medicine to make it compliant with modern practices. Appointment of Shri Rajesh Kotecha, an Ayurveda physician as Special secretary in ministry of Ayush has given much required boost to AYUSH and Ayurveda ecosystem.

Ayurveda as a Business Opportunity
Ayurveda has a huge business proposition in India and across the world due to its emotional connect and also due to ever increasing demand for natural therapies. This huge demand is driven due to various factors which include cutting edge research in the area of lifestyle disease such as Diabetes, PCOD/PCOS, Knee joint pain, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Migraine, Gastritis etc. and patented medicines for these ailments have only beefed up trust in the traditional cure. Stressful working culture, exhaustive lifestyle, the endless quest for peace, the growing ailments with the less healthy environment are adding to the demand of Ayurveda practitioners and medical system.

The Growing Demand
There is strong demand for pure Ayurveda clinics, supply chain of Ayurveda medicine is broken and doctors are not trained on various new development and as per multi city survey, 89% people are willing to use Ayurveda as the first line of treatment but majority of them couldn’t go for it due to lack of first degree of reference or lack of trust in doctors. All this presents the big opportunity for people interested in setting up medicine manufacturing, certified pure Ayurveda clinics and Panchakarma centres, Pure Ayurveda OPD centres, Ayurveda hospital, medicine distribution and medical content management and training. India being diabetes capital of the world can bring down the cost of health care by introducing Ayurveda in daily life.

The Market

One in four Indians is likely to die of non-communicable diseases by the age of 70, confirms a Confederation of Indian Industries Report. More and more Indians are getting conscious about how fit they are and they can take control of their health. Changing lifestyle, increasing income level and access to the knowledge base and rapid urbanisation has been contributing factors to bringing the Ayurveda industry to the forefront. Rapid urbanization is, in fact, fuelling adoption of Ayurveda as India’s urban population, as per census 2011 was 31.16% growing at a CAGR of 1.2%.

If we consider numbers, Ayurveda today is 2 billion dollar market and as per various reports, it presents 60 billion dollar opportunity. Ayurveda led product market is already over 10 billion dollar market in India. Over 80% Ayurveda sector is micro, small and medium enterprises. India is the second large exporter of herb and herbal products in the world and its biggest markets are UAE, Russia, Nepal, Vietnam, Philippines, Kenya, USA, Canada, Iran etc.

Government Initiatives

Along with all this, the Indian government has launched a number of schemes, giving incentive to industry people to participate in national and international fairs. The Make in India and Make for India initiative are bringing new investments and opportunities. 100% FDI is allowed in Ayurveda and franchising has come across as a popular option to scale up and also the present new business opportunity for Ayurveda enthusiasts who would like to start in this segment. If you ever thought of working in the area of Ayurveda then this is the time.

Conclusion

Ayurveda has been a part of our traditions since time immortal. The Ayurveda industry has evolved and has been offering opportunities to the brands. With the high scope of growth in the industry, the future of it looks bright and promising.

This article has been authored by Ram N Kumar, Founder and CEO, NirogStreet.com