Union Minister of AYUSH Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the Curtain Raiser for 9th World Ayurveda Congress (WAC) and Arogya Expo today at Panaji. The event will be held from December 8 – December 11 in Goa. The four-day event, supported by the Central and state governments and the Union Ministry of AYUSH, will witness an assemblage of about 5000 Ayurveda stakeholders — industry leaders, practitioners, traditional healers, educationists, students, drug manufacturers, growers of medicinal plants and marketing strategists — from across the world.
Speaking at the event, Minister Sarbananda Sonowal noted that the focal theme of the event ‘Ayurveda for One Health’ is very meaningful for journey of life. He described how Ayurveda is not just about maintaining one’s health but is a holistic system to take care of Mother Earth as well. He stated that India is leading the way globally when it comes to traditional systems of medicine. The market size of AYUSH sector has grown from 3 billion USD to over 18 billion USD in the past 8 years thanks to the efforts of Government of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, added Minister Sonowal at a Press Conference following the inauguration.
The Minister said the Ministry of AYUSH with all stakeholders of Ayurveda celebrates Ayurveda Day every year on Dhanvantari Jayanti on October 23. The motto of this year’s celebration is “Har Din Har Ghar Ayurveda” (Ayurveda Everyday, Ayurveda Everywhere), he added. All India Institute of Ayurveda, New Delhi, is the nodal Agency for the implementation of the programme. “Around 22 Ministries and departments of Government of India are collaborating for this event,” he said.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said Goa is drawing up plans to become a prime Ayurveda and wellness tourism hub on the strength of a slew of initiatives. The state is eager to harness the benefits of Ayush visa, announced by the Prime Minister recently, to develop tourism, health and wellness centres and make Goa as the best in health tourism sector, the Chief Minister said.
Noting that the WAC has grown over the years, Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State for Tourism, Ports Shipping and Waterways said the World Health Organisation (WHO) is part of the WAC for the first time and it will trigger immense interest of participants. He said Goa with its natural beauty and Goans with their hospitality will certainly make this edition of WAC memorable.
Also present at the event were Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Union Ministry of AYUSH, Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, Tanuja Nesari, Director, All India Institute of Ayurveda, New Delhi, Dr P M Varier, Managing Trustee, Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala, and Chairman, National Organising Committee, WAC & Arogya and other prominent dignitaries from the AYUSH sector.