NEW DELHI: Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya, launched the AYUSH-ICMR Advanced Centre for Integrated Health Research in AIIMS, here today.

He also announced other mega joint initiatives between the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of AYUSH which included multicentre clinical trial on Anaemia and the launch of Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) for AYUSH healthcare facilities. The Union Health Minister also inaugurated the 27th convocation of Rashtriya Ayurveda Vidyapeeth and the 29th National Seminar on 'Ayurvedo Amritanam' on the occasion, an official statement said on Monday.

Expressing his elation at the launch of these collaborative initiatives, Mandaviya said that, "Collaborative Research in AYUSH is extremely important as it bridges the gap between traditional knowledge and modern scientific research, promoting a synergistic approach to health care". "Ayurveda is a part of our culture, heritage and tradition. It is still being followed in our everyday practice. This strategic collaboration aims to advance Integrative Health Research, integrate traditional AYUSH practices with modern medical science and take India to the forefront of holistic healthcare innovations", he said.

Highlighting that the government is following an integrative approach so as to take the best practices from both the disciplines, Ayurveda and Allopathy, the Union Health Minister said that "the Union Government is working towards providing quality-oriented healthcare towards the needs of the people of the country. In this direction, Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) were published by the Union Health Ministry as a set of uniform standards to improve the quality of health care delivery. By adopting these reforms, it is expected that the States/UTs will be able to develop AYUSH health care services with set standards and quality infrastructure, thereby enabling the public to avail the benefits of AYUSH medical services for all healthcare.

The Union Health Minister congratulated the Ministry of AYUSH for its remarkable journey in the last decade which has resulted in significant initiatives and achievements. He also urged the students to inspiration from our ancient scriptures and follow their practices with pride, the release said.

Integrative Medicine (IM) is an approach to medical care that recognizes the benefit of combining conventional/modern medicine therapies with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies that have been shown to be safe and effective to promote holistic health considering individual's requirements. IM also addresses the barriers to healing and provide the patient with the knowledge, skills and support to take better care of their physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual health. Rather than limiting treatments to a specific specialty, IM uses the safest and most effective combination of approaches and treatments from the world of conventional and complementary/alternative medicine, the release stated.