On December 9, 2023, the second day of the Uttarakhand Global Investor Summit 2023, Govt of India AYUSH session was organized at Hall 2, FRI, Dehradun Honourable Cabinet Minister, Mrs. Rekha Arya, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Dignitaries present included Vice-Chairman of Multani Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Arjun Multani, Director of Maharishi Ayurveda, Mr. Lakshman Shrivastav, President of Himalaya Wellness, Dr. S. Farooq, Managing Director of Cholayil Pvt Ltd, Dr. Pradeep Cholayil, Senior Homeopathic Specialist and Researcher from Mumbai, Dr. Jaswant Patil, Director of AIIMS Rishikesh, Prof. Meenu Singh, Vice Chancellor of Jodhpur Ayurveda University Prof P K Prajapati, Vice President of Patanjali Research Foundation, Shri Anurag Varshney, Sadhvi Ganga Nandini from Parmarth Niketan and many others. The event witnessed participation from over 200 AYUSH investors, educators from various institutions across the country, leading AYUSH universities Vice-chancellors, representatives of renowned brands of AYUSH and Wellness sectors. Apart from that Dr Anil Khurana, Chairman, National Homoeopathy Council, Mr. Satyajeet Paul, Deputy Director General from the Ministry of AYUSH, and Dr. Pankaj Kumar Pandey, Secretary of AYUSH and AYUSH Education, Uttarakhand, were also present.Secretary of AYUSH, Govt of Uttarakhand in his opening remarks, shed light on the current Ayush infrastructure and available human resources in the state. He emphasized the enthusiasm displayed by investors for investing in Ayush, wellness, education, and Ayush manufacturing sectors, He told that MoU’s of more than INR 5800 crores already exchanged with investors.As the Chief Guest, Cabinet Minister Mrs. Rekha Arya informed about surpassing the target of MoUsset by Uttarakhand Govt after Prime Minister’s Visit. She praised AYUSH department for grounding project of 350 Cr+. She highlighted the ancient heritage of Ayush in Uttarakhand. She informed the investor about endless possibilities in AYUSH & Wellness Sector. She told that Uttarakhand is full of natural resources with abundance of young, skilled manpower, lowest crime rate and most business friendly investment policies. She informed about the incentives associated with the AYUSH policy, assured the availability of land parcels for investible projects along with full support to all investors from the state government.Dr Anil Khurana, Chairman, NCH explained about various initiatives taken by Ministry to catalyze MSMEs & startups with an objective to boost innovation & growth in AYUSH sector. He told that AYUSH ministry is launching various digitization tools for Ease of doing business like E-Aushadhi and E-Charak. Ayurveda and Yoga are the pillars of Wellness Tourism in India and Ministry is supporting it by introduction of AYUSH Visa and Heal in India initiatives.Mr. Satyajeet Paul from the Ministry of Ayush, Government of India, discussed the policies related to the promotion of Ayush medical practices. He informed the audience about the establishment of AYUSH Export Promotion Council i.e AYUSHEXIL, formulated by Ministry of AYUSH, aimed at boosting Ayush exports, with potential collaboration in Uttarakhand.Mr. Arjun Multani, Vice-Chairman of Multani Pharmaceuticals, discussed the growing prospects of AYUSH in the global market. The Director of Maharishi Ayurveda, Mr. Lakshman Shrivastav, highlighted the immense possibilities of investment in the wellness sector, considering the health favouring Himalayan environment of Uttarakhand. He also mentioned about their upcoming 5-star wellness resort in Uttarkashi.Dr. S. Farooq, President of Himalaya Wellness, described Himalaya’s pre-independence journey in Uttarakhand. He emphasized on the importance of use of latest technology in the manufacturing of Ayush medicines and urged pharmaceutical companies to focus on the quality of AYUSH products.Dr. Pradeep Cholayil, Managing Director of Cholayil Pvt Ltd, addressed the challenges and opportunities in Ayush medicine manufacturing. He mentioned the global potential of Ayush cosmetics and predicted significant growth in the demand for Ayush cosmetics soon.Dr. Jaswant Patil, a senior allopathic turned homeopathic specialist. from Mumbai, presented a brief overview of the holistic health benefits of homeopathic treatment and their cost-effectiveness. He shared his experiences with Homoeopathic medicines in Cancer, Eczema, Muscular Dystrophy, Tuberculosis etc.Prof. Meenu Singh, Director of AIIMS Rishikesh, shared her vision for the integration of Ayush and modern medical practices for the overall health and well-being of Uttarakhand. She emphasized on the importance of documentation of clinical data. She discussed about the clinical effect of Yagya Therapy, Ganges water along from AYUSH pathy. She assured that AIIMS, Rishikesh is ready to supportclinical trials of AYUSH.Prof. Prajapati, VC, Jodhpur University stressed over the importance of innovation and use of technology in the field of AYUSH education. He informed that many commendable provisions have been made in the new AYUSH policy of the Uttarakhand government to promote the quality and skilling. He shared his experience about the efficacy of herbs grown in Himalayas.The program concluded with a vote of thanks from Dr. Vijay Kumar Jogdande, Additional Secretary, Ayush, and Ayush Education, who expressed gratitude to all participants and encouraged further collaboration for establishing Uttarakhand as an AYUSH Hub. Post-event, meetings were organized between Uttarakhand government officials and more than 30 investors for in-depth discussions on AYUSH sector investments. MoU s were also signed between the government and AYUSH Investors.Session moderation was done by EY Partner and a Chartered Accountant by profession Mr. Abhishek Gupta.
