KOCHI: Ayurveda should tide over the challenges posed by Western medicine and reach out to the world, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said on Tuesday. Inaugurating the CII Global Ayurveda Summit through video-conferencing, he stressed on the need for ayurveda to connect with technology and target new market segments by using non-traditional means.
Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said the growing demand for ayurveda products will help India position itself as a major source of inputs for the ayurveda system of medicine. CII southern region deputy chairman C K Ranganathan said India’s export of ayurvedic products is worth more than $780 million a year and the sector is expected to grow at a rate of 20 per cent till 2022. CII Kerala state council chairman Thomas John Muthoot said Kerala’s sales revenue in the ayurveda sector is estimated to be around Rs 1,500 crore.
CII Kerala former chairman S Sajikumar, CII ayurveda panel convenor P M Varier, AVP Research Foundation director Somit Kumar and co-convenor Baby Mathew spoke on the occasion. The summit aims at showcasing ayurveda and herbal medicine and promote the theme ‘Ayurveda for Immunity’. The meet is being conducted as a web event for 30 days, till October 14, with seminars and exhibitions.