National Ayush Mission: Vision, Objectives, Components, and Features of NAM

National Ayush Mission (NAM) is a centrally sponsored scheme implemented by the Government of India. It is for the development of the Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) system of medicine. The mission aims to provide cost-effective AYUSH services with universal access. It aims to upgrade AYUSH hospitals and dispensaries, co-locate AYUSH facilities at primary health centers, and support cultivation of medicinal plants.

If you are preparing for the UPSC exam, it's crucial to understand the various government schemes in detail. One such significant scheme is the National Ayush Mission (NAM). Let's delve deeper into understanding this mission for your IAS exam preparation.

About the National Ayush Mission (NAM)

Launched in 2014 by the Department of Ayush, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the National Ayush Mission is a centrally sponsored scheme. The mission aims to promote the AYUSH systems of medicine, including Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, and Homoeopathy. Its objectives are wide-ranging and include the promotion of cost-effective AYUSH services, strengthening educational institutions, maintaining the quality of AYUSH drugs, and ensuring the sustainable availability of AYUSH raw materials.

Vision of the National Ayush Mission

• To provide cost-effective AYUSH services to all individuals, promoting wellness and preventive healthcare.
• To strengthen the AYUSH educational institutions and enhance their capacity to provide quality education and research.
• To promote the cultivation of medicinal plants and ensure a sustainable supply of quality raw materials.
• To develop infrastructure and facilities for entrepreneurs in the AYUSH sector. This helps foster innovation and market promotion.

Objectives of the National AYUSH Mission 

The National AYUSH Mission has several key objectives, including:

• Offering cost-effective AYUSH services through AYUSH hospitals, dispensaries, and providing AYUSH facilities in Primary Health Centres (PHCs), Community Health Centres (CHCs), and District Hospitals (DHs).
• Strengthening institutional capacities at the state level for AYUSH systems by upgrading educational institutions, drug testing labs, AS&U pharmacies (Ayurveda, Siddhi and Unani), and also AS&U enforcement mechanism.
• Supporting the cultivation of medicinal plants using Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) to provide a sustained supply of quality raw materials for AYUSH drugs.
• Assisting in establishing clusters through the convergence of cultivation, value addition, warehousing, marketing, and developing infrastructure for entrepreneurs.

Components of the National Ayush Mission

• Co-location of AYUSH facilities at primary health centers, community health centers, and district hospitals.
• Supply of essential drugs to AYUSH hospitals and dispensaries.
• Upgradation of state government AYUSH hospitals and dispensaries.
• Setting up integrated AYUSH hospitals with up to 50 beds.
• Upgradation of AYUSH educational institutions.
• Strengthening of AYUSH pharmacies and drug testing laboratories.
• Cultivation and promotion of medicinal plants.
• Upgradation of health facilities into AYUSH health and wellness centers.
• Flexible components such as AYUSH wellness centers, telemedicine, sports medicine through AYUSH, IEC activities, research and development, and voluntary certification schemes.

Features of NAM

• Grant-in-aid provided to state governments for the development of AYUSH as per their proposed State Annual Action Plans.
• No specific targets set by the GoI. Implementation is the responsibility of respective state governments.
• Provision of financial help for the upgradation of AYUSH hospitals and dispensaries.
• Utilization of funds for prophylactic interventions in COVID-19. Utilization of AYUSH infrastructure for combating the pandemic.
• Promotion of AYUSH services through co-location of facilities, upgradation of hospitals, and supply of essential drugs.
• Financial support for the implementation of health programs and public health outreach activities.

Funding Pattern of the Mission

• The funding pattern for NAM is 60:40 between the central government and state governments. For northeastern states and the hilly regions, it is 90:10.
• For the Northeastern States, the funding pattern is 90:10 for the remaining two years of the 12th Five Year Plan.
• The central government provides specific resource pools to each state government. This is based on their proposed State Annual Action Plans.

AYUSH Health and Wellness Centres

In March 2020, the Union Cabinet approved the inclusion of the AYUSH Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) component of Ayushman Bharat under the National AYUSH Mission.

• This inclusion is aimed at setting up a holistic wellness model based on AYUSH principles and practices with an emphasis on preventive, curative, promotive, rehabilitative & palliative healthcare through an integration with the current public healthcare system.
• The National Health Policy 2017 advocates the mainstreaming of the potential of AYUSH systems within a pluralistic system of integrative healthcare.
• AYUSH HWCs are designed to deliver an expanded range of services that go beyond maternal and child health care services to include care for non-communicable diseases, palliative and rehabilitative care, oral, eye and ENT care, mental health and first-level care for emergencies and trauma, including free essential drugs and diagnostic services.

We hope all your doubts regarding this topic have been addressed after going through this article. Ace your UPSC preparation with the Testbook App!