Parliament passes Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Bill 2020

The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Bill, 2020. This paves the way for the establishment of a state-of-the-art Ayurvedic institution called the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA) at Jamnagar, Gujarat, and conferment of the status of Institution of National Importance (INI) to it, the Ministry of AYUSH said in a statement.

The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on March 19.

The ITRA is sought to be established by conglomerating the presently existing Ayurveda institutes at Gujarat Ayurved University campus in Jamnagar, the statement said.

This is a cluster of highly-reputed institutions, namely Institute for Post Graduate Teaching and Research in Ayurveda, Shree GulabKunverba Ayurveda Mahavidyalaya, and Institute of Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical sciences,  Maharshi Patanjali Institute for Yoga Naturopathy Education & Research (to be made part of the Department of Swasthvritta of the proposed ITRA).

These institutions came up over many decades and together made a unique family of Ayurveda institutions existing in close proximity.

“It is expected that the enactment of the proposal will further provide autonomy to the institute to develop patterns of teaching in undergraduate and postgraduate education in Ayurveda and pharmacy,” the statement said.

The synergies among the different constituent institutions will help ITRA to demonstrate high standards of such education and to emerge as a lighthouse institution to the entire AYUSH sector. It is expected to provide the highest level of training to personnel in all important branches of Ayurveda, including pharmacy, and to take up in-depth study and research in the field of Ayurveda, it said.

“ITRA will be the first institution with INI status in the AYUSH sector, and this will enable the institution to be independent and innovative in the matter deciding course content and pedagogy,” the statement said.

The decision comes at a time when global interest in health solutions based on traditional wisdom is at an unprecedentedly high level and ITRA is poised to take Ayurveda education to new vistas, it added.