Health and Family Welfare

OTHER IMPORTANT POINTS:

• India has been declared polio free from March, 2014.
• The National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata.
• Vector Control Research Center, Puducherry.
• National guidelines for Stem Cell Research was revised and a revised version of ICMR-DBT Guidelines for Stem Cell Research and Therapy was released on 21st February, 2014.
• School of Public Health established at NIE, Chennai has recently started new courses viz., Postgraduate Diploma in HIV epidemiology and a one year online PG diploma in Bioethics program as distance learning under the ICMR—IGNOU joint initiative.
• Department of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy (ISM&H) was created in March, 1995 and re-named as Department of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) in November, 2003 with a View to provide focused attention to development of Education and Research in Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy systems.
• Sowa Rigpa is the recent addition to the existing family of AYUSH systems.
• A separate National Policy on Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy is in place since 2002.
• Pharmacopoeial Laboratory for Indian Medicine (PLIM) established in 1970, is a subordinate office at the Department located in Ghaziabad. It acts as an Appellate laboratory for testing of Ayurvedic, Unani & Siddha drugs under Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
• Homeopathic Pharmacopoeial laboratory, Ghaziabad was setup as a National Laboratory for the purpose of laying down standards and testing to identify purity and quality of Homeopathic Medicines.
• Indian Medicines Pharmaceutical Corporation established in 1978 is a government enterprise with 97.61% Govt. of India shares and 2.39% shares of Uttarakhand government.
• Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM), New Delhi is a Statutory Body constituted under the lndian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970.
• Central Council of Homeopathy (CCH), New Delhi is a statutory body constituted under the Homoeopathy Central Council Act. 1973, which provides for the maintenance of a Central Register of Homoeopathy and for other matters connected therewith.
• There are five apex research Councils, namely,

1. Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS),
2. Central Council for Research in Siddha (CCRS),
3. Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM),
4. Central Council for Research in Homeopathy (CCRH)
5. Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy (CCRYN).

• Research and development activities related to AYUSH are being implemented under intramural and extramural research progroammes of these Councils.
• Unani specialty clinics are functioning at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, New Delhi.
• A Yoga lifestyle centre is also functioning at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Delhi.
• Similarly, Ayurveda clinic is functioning at Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi and Homoeopathy clinics at Safdarjung Hospital, Cantt Hospital and Kalawati Hospital New Delhi and one at Vinobha Niketan, Trivandrum (Kerala).

NATIONAL INSTITUTES

• 11 Apex educational institutions are established to promote excellence in Indian System of Medicine and Homeopathy education.
• In each system there is a National Institute. To name a few, these are:

1. National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur,
2. National Institute of Homoeopathy, Kolkata,
3. National Institute of Unani Medicine, Bengaluru,
4. National Institute of Siddha, Chennai,
5. National Institute of Naturopathy, Pune,
6. Rashtriya Ayurved Vidyapeeth, New Delhi
7. Moraiji Desai National Institute of Yoga, New Delhi.

NATIONAL MEDICINAL PLANTS BOARD (NMPB)

• NMPB is an apex national body which coordinates all matters relating to medicinal plants in the country.
• The Board which was established in November, 2000, acts as an advisory body to the concerned ministries, departments and agencies in strategic planning of medicinal plants related initiatives.
• The NMPB is presently implementing two schemes namely Central Sector Scheme for “Conservation, Development and Sustainable Management of Medicinal Plants” and Centrally Sponsored Scheme of “National Mission on Medicinal Plants”.

AYUSH SERVICES

• Under the National Health Mission (NHM), a large number of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homeopathy facilities have been set up in Primary Health Centres, Community Health Centres and District Hospitals.
• Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Development of AYUSH Hospitals and Dispensaries of the Department of AYUSH, provides financial assistance to the State for the creation of such AYUSH facilities.
• Department of AYUSH has proposed a National AYUSH Mission (NAM) for assisting the States /UTs for the overall development of AYUSH Sector.