Latest news with #VaidyaRajeshKotecha
Time of India
21-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Ayush Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha gets fourth extension
New Delhi: The Centre on Tuesday extended the tenure of Ayush Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha by a year till June 28, 2026. This will be his fourth extension on the post. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the extension in the tenure of Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, on contract basis for a period of one year beyond June 28, 2025, up to June 28, 2025, on existing terms and conditions, said an order issued by the Personnel Ministry. Kotecha is among the select group of lateral entry appointees who were picked by the Centre as specialists for government departments. In another departure from the convention of appointing a bureaucrat to the top post, the Centre had in 2017 appointed him as the Secretary of the Ministry of Ayush ( Ayurveda , Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy). He was given two-year extensions twice, first in 2020 and then in 2022. In June last year, his tenure was extended by one more year, which was to end on June 28, 2025. Kotecha, who was a chief consultant at the Chakrapani Ayurveda Clinic in Jaipur, was appointed as a Special Secretary in the Ayush Ministry in June 2017. Later, he was appointed as the secretary. The Ayush Ministry was formed on November 9, 2014, to revive the profound knowledge of ancient systems of medicine with focused attention towards education and research in Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy. Earlier, the Department of Indian System of Medicine and Homoeopathy (ISM&H) formed in 1995 was responsible for the development of these systems.
India Gazette
11-05-2025
- Health
- India Gazette
Sixth Meeting of Group of Friends of Traditional Medicine held in Geneva
Geneva [Switzerland], May 11 (ANI): The Sixth Meeting of the Group of Friends of Traditional Medicine (GFTM) was successfully held on May 9 at the Permanent Mission of India (PMI) in Geneva. The meeting brought together ambassador's representatives from various countries committed to strengthening the role of traditional medicine in global healthcare systems, according to the Ministry of AYUSH statement. Building on the Gujarat Declaration and the success of past meetings, this gathering supports key global initiatives, particularly the WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025-2034 and the upcoming Second WHO Global Traditional Medicine Summit, to be held in India from December 2-4, 2025. Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha delivered a keynote address virtually that underscored India's leadership and commitment in promoting evidence-based traditional medicine across the world. In his remarks Secretary, Ministry of Ayush emphasized the growing relevance of traditional medicine in achieving universal health coverage and advancing the goals of One Health and Sustainable Development, as per the Ministry of AYUSH. He reaffirmed India's commitment through Ministry of Ayush with initiatives like the National AYUSH Mission, the integrative model of Ayush Arogya Mandirs, insurance coverage for traditional medicine, and collaborative research with premier institutions like DBT, DST, ICMR, and CSIR. According to the Ministry of AYUSH, the address also highlighted India's focus on emerging domains such as AI, genomics, and bioinformatics in traditional medicine--reflected in the global technical meeting on AI applications in traditional medicine underscoring the country's role in safeguarding traditional knowledge, enhancing capacity, and promoting equitable global health. 'The Group of Friends of Traditional Medicine (GFTM) was created by India in May 2023. This informal platform allows WHO member states to discuss and support the integration of traditional medicine into health systems,' he said, calling for greater collaboration, knowledge exchange, and research partnerships. India's Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva, which hosted the meeting, reaffirmed its commitment to furthering international cooperation on traditional and integrative healthcare solutions, in alignment with WHO guidelines and national policies. With platforms like GFTM and the leadership of the Ministry of Ayush, India is not only preserving its traditional wellness heritage but also reshaping the future of global health, one that is inclusive, preventive, and deeply rooted in the wisdom of nature. It is to be noted that the Group of Friends of Traditional Medicine will host a high-level side event during the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA78) on 23 May 2025 from 6:00 to 7:30 PM at the UN Palais des Nations, Geneva. Titled 'Traditional Medicine: From Traditional Heritage to Frontier Science, for Health for All', the event will highlight the growing global momentum to integrate Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) within universal health systems and sustainable development frameworks. (ANI)
Hans India
11-05-2025
- Health
- Hans India
Traditional medicine key to achieve universal health coverage: Ayush Ministry
The government has emphasised the growing relevance of traditional medicine in achieving universal health coverage and advancing the goals of 'One Health and Sustainable Development,' it was announced on Sunday. The sixth meeting of the Group of Friends of Traditional Medicine (GFTM) was successfully held at the Permanent Mission of India (PMI) in Geneva. The meeting brought together ambassador's representatives from various countries committed to strengthening the role of traditional medicine in global healthcare systems, according to Ayush Ministry. Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, delivered a keynote address virtually that underscored India's leadership and commitment in promoting evidence-based traditional medicine across the world. He reaffirmed India's commitment through Ministry of Ayush with initiatives like the National AYUSH Mission, the integrative model of Ayush Arogya Mandirs, insurance coverage for traditional medicine, and collaborative research with premier institutions like DBT, DST, ICMR, and CSIR. He also highlighted India's focus on emerging domains such as AI, genomics, and bioinformatics in traditional medicine — reflected in the global technical meeting on AI applications in traditional medicine underscoring the country's role in safeguarding traditional knowledge, enhancing capacity, and promoting equitable global health. 'The Group of Friends of Traditional Medicine (GFTM) was created by India in May 2023. This informal platform allows WHO member states to discuss and support the integration of traditional medicine into health systems,' he said, calling for greater collaboration, knowledge exchange, and research partnerships. India's Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva, which hosted the meeting, reaffirmed its commitment to furthering international cooperation on traditional and integrative healthcare solutions, in alignment with WHO guidelines and national policies. With platforms like GFTM and the leadership of the Ministry of Ayush, India is not only preserving its traditional wellness heritage but also reshaping the future of global health — one that is inclusive, preventive, and deeply rooted in the wisdom of nature. The gathering supported key global initiatives — particularly the WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034 and the upcoming Second WHO Global Traditional Medicine Summit, to be held in India from December 2-4, 2025.
Hans India
06-05-2025
- Business
- Hans India
Ayush manufacturing sector grew 8x in last 10 years, huge potential for economy, export: Centre
New Delhi: The Ayush manufacturing sector grew eight times in the last decade, and the sector has huge potential for boosting the economy and export, said Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of Ayush. He was speaking at the stakeholder consultation meeting along with the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, in the national capital. The meeting aimed to promote the cultivation and use of medicinal plants across the country, observing participation from other ministries such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, National Plant Medicinal Board (NPMB), State Horticulture Missions (SHMs), ICAR, State Medicinal Plant Boards, progressive farmers and leading private players from Medicinal Plant industry. 'There is a huge possibility of growth in Ayush sector. The Ayush manufacturing sector has grown by 8 times in the last 10 years and has vast export potential. The sector has enormous economic opportunities, and especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for Ayush products including medicinal plants has grown immensely,' said Kotecha. Devesh Chaturvedi, Secretary, of the Agriculture Ministry, highlighted the scope of the Ayush sector in increasing the domestic production of medicinal plants as inter-state trade and export of medicinal plants. 'We need better convergence between the Ministry of Ayush and Agriculture departments and collaboration with State Medicinal Plant Boards, to promote medicinal plants at the national level,' he said. Chaturvedi stressed that there is a need for a mission-mode programme for medicinal plant cultivation, identifying good practices of cultivation, efficient techniques, etc., which will help in the upliftment of the sector. The meeting focussed on exploring avenues for developing region-specific medicinal plant clusters; facilitating partnerships between farmers and industry players for assured procurement and end-to-end value chain development; discussing the establishment of dedicated mandis and marketing platforms to ensure fair prices for farmers; and promoting research, training, and extension services to build capacity among stakeholders. The participants and stakeholders also suggested identifying crop-specific areas for the establishment of clusters dedicated to medicinal plants. These clusters would focus on area expansion, production, industry partnerships, farmer training, and marketing through setting up specialised mandis for these crops ensuring remunerative prices to the farmers. The experts also emphasised the need to identify policy interventions and financial incentives to encourage farmers to take up the cultivation of medicinal plants.
