Ministry of Ayush has taken following steps to promote the production, quality, standardization and export of Ayush medicines:

1. The Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Drugs Rules, 1945 have exclusive regulatory provisions for Ayush drugs.  It is mandatory for the manufacturers to adhere to the prescribed requirements for licensing of manufacturing units & medicines including proof of safety & effectiveness, compliance with the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) as per Schedule T and Schedule M-I of the Drugs Rules, 1945 for Ayurveda, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa, Unani and Homeopathy drugs respectively and to follow the quality standards of drugs as prescribed in the respective pharmacopoeia.
   Drug Inspectors collect medicine samples regularly from manufacturing firms or retail shops within their jurisdiction and send them to Drug Testing Laboratory under Drug Control department for quality testing and if any sample is found to be ‘Not of Standard Quality’, appropriate action is initiated to prevent the sale of such medicines in the market, along with legal proceedings as per the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and the Rules made thereunder. There are 34 Drug Testing Laboratories available in State/UTs for testing of the Legal Samples drawn by the Drug Inspectors of concerned State/UTs.
2. The Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H), a subordinate organization under Ministry of Ayush, develops pharmacopoeial standards and formulary specifications for Ayush drugs, which serve as the official compendia for determining their identity, purity, and strength. Compliance with these standards is mandatory under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and the Rules made thereunder. PCIM&H also functions as the Appellate Drug Testing Laboratory for Ayush drugs and conducts regular capacity-building programmes for Drug Regulatory Authorities, Drug Analysts, and other stakeholders on standardization, quality control, and testing methodologies to strengthen the quality assurance system for Ayush drugs.
3. Drug Testing Laboratories are approved by Ministry of Ayush under Rules 160A to 160J of the Drugs Rules, 1945, for carrying out tests relating to the identity, purity, quality and strength of Ayush drugs. As on date, 118 private Drug Testing Laboratories have been approved by Ministry across States and Union Territories for conducting such tests in accordance with the provisions of the Drugs Rules, 1945.
4. Further, Ministry of Ayush is implementing a Central Sector Scheme, namely, Ayush Oushadhi Gunvatta Evam Uttpadan Samvardhan Yojana (AOGUSY) to support Ayush Pharmacies and Drug Testing Laboratories to achieve higher standards like World Health Organization Good Manufacturing Practices (WHO-GMP) and National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) respectively.
5. In addition, Ministry of Ayush has undertaken the following initiatives to promote quality assurance and export of Ayush products:

• World Health Organization Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product (WHO-CoPP) is issued by Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) after joint inspection of manufacturing units by drug inspectors posted in Ayush Vertical in CDSCO along with drug inspectors of States/UTs and CDSCO for compliance with WHO Technical Report Series (TRS) guidelines for herbal medicines.
• Ministry of Ayush has launched Ayush Quality Mark (AQM) initiative through the Ayush Export Promotion Council (AYUSHEXCIL). Under this framework, the Ayush Quality Mark is being granted after scrutiny and verification of valid quality certifications and statutory approvals issued by the competent Government authorities, such as WHO-GMP, Ayush Premium Mark and other recognised certifications, as applicable.
• Ayush Standard Mark and Ayush Premium Mark are awarded to Ayush Drugs by Quality Council of India (QCI) based on third-party assessment of compliance with prescribed National and International quality standards.
• Ayurveda and Yoga has been included under Sectional Committee 2 of ISO/TC249 to focus on International Standards of Ayurveda and Yoga terminology, quality and safety of ingredients, extracts, finished products, Ayurveda based dietary supplements, Yoga accessories etc. 

The details of the total export value of Ayush and Herbal products and the major export destinations during the last five years, year-wise are at Annexure-I.

The Ministry of Ayush is implementing the Central Sector Scheme, namely Promotion of International Cooperation for Ayush to enhance the Global outreach of Ayush systems of medicine. The Scheme provides support to Indian Ayush drug manufacturers and Ayush service providers to promote the export of Ayush products and services. It also facilitates the International promotion, development, and recognition of Ayush systems of medicine; fosters engagement with International stakeholders and market development; promotes academic collaboration and research through the establishment of Ayush Academic Chairs in foreign countries; and supports the organization for conducting training programmes, workshops, and symposiums to strengthen Global awareness, understanding, and acceptance of Ayush systems of medicine.

Further, Ministry of Ayush has signed 27 Country to Country MoUs, 16 Ayush Chair MoUs and 57 Institute to Institute level MoUs for the International promotion and propagation of Ayush systems of medicine.

The Ministry of Ayush does not compile or maintain State-wise information relating to the production and export of Ayush medicines.

 

Annexure-I

As per Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), the details of the total export value of Ayush and Herbal products and the major export destinations during the last five years, year-wise are as follows:

Export value of Ayush and Herbal products	Apr 2020-Mar 2021	Apr 2021-Mar 2022	Apr 2022-Mar 2023	Apr 2023-Mar 2024	Apr 2024-Mar 2025	Apr 2025-Mar 2026
Country	Value in US$	Value in US$	Value in US$	Value in US$	Value in US$	Value in US$
USA	155288773	175434555	171782223	183494144	188541435	151566460
Germany	48728505	55040517	57620613	62706059	70766835	64318725
Italy	21581559	24598012	28460362	36255641	41428324	36080325
UAE	22392114	26509215	26804164	25126803	33079568	32429729
Vietnam	12993529	9323499	1632711	4638837	6355158	24571563
France	17410491	19524096	19604147	16237548	23610349	24525755
Russia	9811206	9876543	16479958	13771735	17339046	19233750
United Kingdom	12891554	13144064	16628598	16196368	18177659	17109210
Nepal	15436861	20995439	14548951	15682339	16540826	16429711
China	24396211	25930789	26913292	27949899	20001849	16266523

This information was given by Union Minister of State (I/C) for Ayush, Shri Prataprao Jadhav in a written reply in lok Sabha today.

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SR/SV/SG

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