“Intrinsic to the new-found love for India among various countries was not mere growth rates or that we have a most inclusive society, or that we have a huge reservoir of highly trained people,” Narayanan said while speaking at an international Ayurvedic convention.

Indians are praised across the globe for what we have given to the world – fresh hope through the medium of Ayurveda, he said. Ayurveda offered hope for incurable diseases and has few, if any, side effects, he said, adding that it was safe and above all it has an answer for diseases that other systems of medicine cannot cure, he said.

Conveying the message of Union Health Minister, Anbumani Ramdoss to the convention, Narayanan said India has a certain comparative advantage in traditional medicine, and could take full advantage of the global resurgence of interest in complementary and alternative medicines.

Ayurveda, along with other traditional system like Siddha and Unani have proven strengths in prevention and management of chronic lifestyle-related, non-communicable diseases and diseases for which there were not effective drugs in the modern system of medicine, Narayanan said.

Department of AYUSH has been set up to provide focused attention to the development of education and research and ensure optimum utilization by bringing these systems into the mainstream and gainfully utilize the vast resources, including manpower, which existed in this sector, towards enhancing the outreach of the health care system and meet the unmet health needs of India’s population, he said.

AYUSH was determined to lay maximum emphasis on up gradation of educational institutions, quality control, and standardization of drugs, promote sustainability of raw materials and greater availability of medicinal plants through conservation, cultivation, research and development and generate awareness about the efficacy of these systems domestically and internationally, Anbumani has said.

World over the population of the aged is on the rise and the department of Ayush under the Health Ministry has identified geriatrics as a priority area, he said.

The conference, to be inaugurated by former president Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, also aims at coming out with a blueprint for setting up a national centre for geriatrics. The centre is to be set up at the national institute of Ayurveda at Jaipur. The Arya Vaidya Pharmacy ltd (AVP)’s geriatrics unit at Coimbatore would be upgraded to collaborate with the Jaipur institute.

Metabolic disorders and nutrition are the other two areas which the conference will focus on, he said. The deliberations will address the relevance of Ayurveda in addressing these critical areas of health care, Dr K G Ravindran, medical director avp, Coimbatore, said.

The conference is being held as a culmination of the year long centenary celebrations of renowned Ayurveda physician and founder of Coimbatore A.V.P. Arya Vaidyan P V Rama Varier. The conference will also prepare a vision document for globalization of Ayurveda. Around 110 scholars from India and abroad will address the sessions in which about 2500 delegates, including 300 from abroad are expected to participate.

Dr Ram Manohar said a series of per convention workshop will be held from Aug 14-21. Seven panel discussions, 18 technical sessions, 9 pre convention workshops in 5 venues will be held. The panel discussions will also focus on Ayurveda pedagogy: global needs; science in the context of Ayurveda for global acceptance, Ayurveda and biotechnology and evolution of Ayurveda industry in the global pharma milieu.

The students from the 250 odd Ayurveda colleges in the country can come and see the technologies available in Ayurveda treatments, he said. As part of the conference, the Arogya International Ayurveda Health Expo will be held to create an opportunity to showcase business products.

The organizers expect over 250exhibitors– manufacturers, raw drug vendors, software solution providers, neutraceuticals, herbal medicines, to participate. Yoga demonstrations, astrology consultation and a buyer-seller meet will also be held.

The AVP which has treatment centres in Malaysia, Oman and UAE, is also earning revenue of about RS 2 crore annually by exporting some of its products, it was stated.