Ayurveda is increasingly gaining prominence in global health and wellness conversations, with India stepping up efforts to connect the traditional knowledge system with modern research, quality standards and international healthcare frameworks.
As India prepares to observe the 11th Ayurveda Day on September 23, under the theme “Ayurveda for a Healthier Tomorrow”, the focus is increasingly shifting towards strengthening scientific evidence, institutional capacity and global cooperation to support the responsible expansion of Ayurveda.
The Ayush sector has witnessed substantial economic growth over the past decade. The Ayush market increased from USD 2.85 billion in 2014 to USD 43.4 billion in 2023, while Ayush exports rose from USD 1.09 billion to USD 2.16 billion during the same period.
Government initiatives aimed at strengthening MSMEs and startups have also contributed to the development of a broader ecosystem for entrepreneurship, innovation and investment in the sector.
Strong domestic base for Ayurveda
Growing domestic adoption of traditional medicine provides another foundation for Ayurveda’s expansion.
The first exclusive All-India Survey on Ayush, conducted by the National Sample Survey Office during July 2022-June 2023, covered 1,81,298 households, including 1,04,195 rural and 77,103 urban households.
The survey recorded Ayush awareness levels of 94.8 per cent in rural areas and 96 per cent in urban areas. It also found that 46.3 per cent of rural residents and 52.9 per cent of urban residents had used Ayush for treatment or prevention during the preceding 365 days.
Ayurveda emerged as the most commonly used Ayush system for treatment, highlighting its significant domestic base and potential role in preventive healthcare and wellness.
Ayurveda and medical value travel
India is also seeking to leverage growing international interest in holistic healthcare through medical value travel.
The government introduced a dedicated Ayush Visa on July 27, 2023, for foreign nationals seeking treatment under Ayush systems.
The Government has also partnered with the India Tourism Development Corporation to identify tourism circuits with potential for Ayurveda and other traditional systems.
The global medical value travel market, estimated at USD 115.6 billion in 2022, is projected to reach around USD 286.1 billion by 2030.
Ayurveda and other traditional systems could therefore become an important component of India’s medical value travel and wellness ecosystem by bringing together healthcare, wellness services and tourism.
Roadmap for taking Ayurveda global
A significant policy development has been the release of NITI Aayog’s “Strategic Roadmap for Making Ayurveda Global” in July 2026.
Envisioned as a long-term pathway up to 2047, the roadmap focuses on regulation and standards, research, education, international collaboration, exports, branding and medical value travel.
It emphasises the need for robust research, quality standards, trained professionals, consistent products and regulatory frameworks that can be understood and recognised internationally.
The roadmap seeks to strengthen the institutional and quality ecosystem required for Ayurveda’s responsible expansion and greater confidence in its services and products in international markets.
India strengthens global traditional medicine cooperation
India’s efforts are also closely linked with wider global cooperation in traditional, complementary and integrative medicine.
The WHO Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025-2034, adopted by the 78th World Health Assembly in 2025, provides a framework focused on strengthening evidence, ensuring safety and regulation, integrating traditional medicine into health systems and enhancing its wider contribution.
India has played a significant role in this global effort. The WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat, was established in 2022 with India as its lead investor. India committed an estimated USD 250 million towards its establishment, infrastructure and operations.
The centre focuses on evidence and learning, data and analytics, sustainability and equity, and innovation and technology.
India’s role was further highlighted through the two WHO Global Summits on Traditional Medicine.
The first summit, held in Gandhinagar in August 2023 and co-hosted by WHO and the Government of India, resulted in the Gujarat Declaration.
The second summit was held in New Delhi from December 17-19, 2025, under the theme “Restoring Balance for People and Planet: The Science and Practice of Well-being”. It addressed evidence, health-system integration, regulation, biodiversity, indigenous knowledge, intellectual property and innovation, and resulted in the Delhi Declaration and SMART commitments for implementing the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Strategy.
Ayurveda enters global classification framework
Another significant development has been the inclusion of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani in global health classification frameworks.
In January 2024, WHO launched Traditional Medicine Module 2 of ICD-11, covering morbidity codes for these systems and enabling their conditions to be documented and reported through an internationally comparable framework.
WHO has clarified that such inclusion does not amount to an endorsement of the scientific validity or efficacy of individual traditional medicine practices.
Work is also progressing towards classification of interventions, with India and WHO working on intervention codes for Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani.
Research and evidence at the core
The generation of credible scientific evidence remains central to Ayurveda’s future development.
The Ministry of Ayush’s Ayush Research Portal serves as a government repository of research on Ayush systems and currently displays more than 43,000 research entries.
The expanding body of research can contribute to greater scientific understanding of Ayurveda and support the development of credible standards, services and products.
At the same time, preserving the distinctive principles and knowledge systems of Ayurveda remains important for its responsible and sustainable development.
With an expanding Ayush economy, growing domestic adoption, opportunities in medical value travel, stronger international cooperation and increasing emphasis on research and quality standards, Ayurveda is entering a new phase of global engagement.
As India observes the 11th Ayurveda Day, the theme “Ayurveda for a Healthier Tomorrow” provides an opportunity to highlight its potential contribution to preventive healthcare, wellbeing and sustainable living.
Its future global journey, however, will increasingly depend on evidence, innovation, quality, professional capacity and responsible globalisation, strengthening Ayurveda’s role in the evolving landscape of global health and wellness.
