Ministry of Ayush and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 11^th May 2023 with objectives to promote and develop cooperation and collaboration on health research between Ministry of Ayush and ICMR to-

1. Explore the areas of collaboration, convergence and synergy between Ministry of Ayush and ICME for integrative health research.
2. Strengthening research capacity between Ministry of Ayush and ICMR.

As per the MoU, one of the priority areas is establishment of Ayush-ICMR Centres for Advanced Research in Integrative Health at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

The salient features of these centres are as under:-

• To develop dynamic and vibrant ecosystem of integrative health research through integrating Ayush system with conventional bio-medicine, and modern technology to bring integrative health care to the people through innovations related to diagnostics, preventive, health promotive, restorative as well as treatment methods.
• Generating robust evidence for mainstreaming the integrative health approaches for diseases of national importance through channelizing the existing Human resources, Infrastructure and available resources.

The Government published the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) for Ayushman Arogya Mandir (Ayush) and Ayush hospitals on 4^th March 2024. These standards aim to bridge the existing gaps in service delivery by providing a standardized framework. This framework encompasses not only the physical infrastructure of the Ayush healthcare facilities but also the quality of care provided, standards on availability of human resources, capacity building, medicines, diagnostics, equipment and governance etc. ensuring the availability of the highest standards of healthcare delivery across the nation.

This information was given by the Minister of State (IC) for Ayush Shri Pratap Rao Jadhav in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

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