National Ayush Mission | 15 Jul 2021

Why in News

The government has decided to continue the National Ayush Mission (NAM) as a centrally sponsored scheme till 2026.

  • The project will have a total cost of Rs. 4,603 crore, of which the Centre will bear Rs 3,000 crore share, and the states will cover the rest.
  • Recently, new portals on the Ayush sector were also launched.

Meaning of 'Ayush'

  • Traditional & Non-Conventional Systems of Health Care and Healing Which Include Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homoeopathy etc.
  • The positive features of the Indian systems of medicine namely their diversity and flexibility; accessibility; affordability, a broad acceptance by a large section of the general public; comparatively lesser cost and growing economic value, have great potential to make them providers of healthcare that the large sections of our people need.

Key Points

  • Launch:
    • Launched in September 2014 by the Department of AYUSH under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, during the 12th Plan for implementation through States/UTs.
    • Now, it is implemented by the Ministry of Ayush.
  • About:
    • The scheme involves expansion of the AYUSH sector to promote holistic health of Indians.
    • The Mission addresses the gaps in health services through supporting the efforts of State/UT Governments for providing AYUSH health services/education in the country, particularly in vulnerable and far-flung areas.
  • Components of the National AYUSH Mission:
    • Obligatory Components:
      • AYUSH Services.
      • AYUSH Educational Institutions.
      • Quality Control of ASU&H (Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani & Homoeopathy) Drugs.
      • Medicinal Plants.
    • Flexible Component
      • AYUSH Wellness Centres comprising Yoga and Naturopathy,
      • Tele-medicine,
      • Innovations in AYUSH including Public Private Partnership,
      • IEC (Information, Education and Communication) activities,
      • Voluntary certification scheme: Project based, etc.
  • Expected Outcomes:
    • Better access to AYUSH healthcare services through increased healthcare facilities and better availability of medicines and trained manpower.
    • Improvement in AYUSH education through a well-equipped enhanced number of AYUSH Educational institutions.
    • To focus on reducing communicable/non-communicable diseases through targeted public health programmes using AYUSH systems of Healthcare.

Central Schemes

  • The central schemes are divided into Central Sector Schemes and Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS).
  • Central sector schemes:
    • These schemes are 100% funded by the Central government.
    • Implemented by the Central Government machinery.
    • Formulated on subjects mainly from the Union List.
    • E.g.: Bharatnet, Namami Gange-National Ganga Plan, etc.
  • Centrally Sponsored Schemes:
    • These are the schemes by the centre where there is financial participation by both the centre and states.
    • CSS are again divided into Core of the Core Schemes, Core Schemes and Optional schemes.
      • There are 6 core of the core schemes.
    • Most of these schemes prescribe specific financial participation by states. For example, in the case of MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act), state governments have to incur 25% material expenditure.
  • The 6 core of the core CSS are:

Source: PIB