Indian Economy News

Budget 2026 Puts Ayush at the Heart of India’s Integrative Healthcare Vision

The Union Budget 2026 places Ayush at the very heart of the Indian vision for integrative healthcare, thus witnessing a paradigm shift towards leveraging traditional systems of medicine as a key building block for preventive and holistic healthcare. The Hon’ble Finance Minister Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman announced important initiatives to enhance Ayush education, quality, research, global leadership, medical value tourism, and human resource development thus reiterating the Government’s commitment to taking India’s traditional systems of medicine to global competitiveness. One of the most important announcements is the plan to set up three new All India Institutes of Ayurveda (AIIAs) to enhance undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, advanced research, and tertiary care services. These new institutions are expected to raise the quality of academic standards and evidence-based integrative healthcare across the country.

The Budget also proposes the upgradation of Ayush pharmacies and drug testing laboratories to higher certification standards, thus improving the quality of products, consumer confidence, exportability, and support to medicinal plant farmers and MSMEs. The WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre at Jamnagar will be upgraded to strengthen research collaborations, international training, and policy engagement. Regional integration is also on the anvil with five Regional Medical Value Tourism Hubs integrating traditional systems of medicine with modern medical care, thus creating massive employment opportunities for Ayush professionals, therapists, yoga trainers, and other related personnel. The introduction of yoga and wellness skills in NSQF-aligned caregiver training for 1.5 lakh caregivers further integrates Ayush skills into the overall care economy. The Budget thus seeks to integrate healthcare policy with rural livelihoods, youth employment, export expansion, and entrepreneurship, thus recognizing the importance of Ayush in the future healthcare landscape of India.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.