India opened 241 new Indian Medicine colleges between 2014 and 2021, says AYUSH Minister

From 2014-21, during the tenure of the BJP-led NDA government, 241 new ASUSR&H (Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Homeopathy) colleges have opened up in the country, said Minister of AYUSH Sarbananda Sonowal before the Parliament. He was answering a question by BJP MPs Dipsinh Shankarsinh Rathod and Lallu Singh.

"Ministry of AYUSH was established on November 9, 2014. Since then, there has been a substantial increase in the number of AYUSH colleges in the country," said Sonowal, adding, "From 2014-2021, 241 new ASUSR&H (156 Ayurveda, 4 Siddha, 14 Unani, 3 Sowa Rigpa and 63 Homeopathy) Colleges have been established/permitted to conduct UG and PG courses." Currently, there are 717 approved AYUSH colleges in the country. This includes 419 Ayurveda institutes, 57 Unani institutes, 13 Siddha institutes, 215 Homeopathy institutes, 6 Sowa Rigpa institutes and 48 Yoga and Naturopathy institutes.

"These institutions will help in improving the doctor-population ratio which has a direct impact on public health," said Sonowal. While WHO counts only MBBS doctors to decide a doctor-patient ratio, India, in its count includes AYUSH doctors too. However, it is unclear if AYUSH doctors are counted by the UN body.