Ayurveda, despite its strong domestic foundation, has yet to achieve the global success of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) due to limited practitioner licensure frameworks, fragmented global research leadership, low availability of harmonised pharmacopeial standards and insufficient integration of modern scientific validation pathways, according to a NITI Aayog report titled ‘Strategic Roadmap for Making Ayurveda Global’.
The report notes that TCM’s international success is underpinned by mission-scale state support, substantial research and development funding, and proactive global standards diplomacy.
It further observes that Ayurveda’s international expansion remains uneven, with its services largely confined to wellness, spa and complementary therapy settings in most countries.
“Global uptake is constrained by the lack of standardised practitioner licensure, the absence of internationally recognised micro-credential programmes for healthcare workers in host countries, and the relatively low export of finished Ayurvedic pharmaceuticals due to regulatory barriers—especially in the United States and the European Union,” the report states.
It recommends strengthening global research collaborations, establishing multi-country clinical trial hubs in partnership with World Health Organization (WHO) collaborating centres, building public-private research partnerships, and expanding international educational pathways to enhance Ayurveda’s global reach.
Among its recommendations, the report suggests that India should further leverage its diplomatic capital through Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs) with friendly nations and multilateral groupings such as the G20, BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). It also advocates expanding Ayurveda’s global academic footprint through elective courses in international medical schools, strategically integrated with the Ayush Chair initiative.
As a long-term measure to establish Ayurveda as a full-fledged global system of medicine, the report recommends the creation of a World Federation of Ayurveda and Yoga—an international, non-profit umbrella organisation dedicated to advancing standardisation and health system integration.
India currently has three WHO Collaborating Centres for traditional medicine. Of these, one is dedicated to Ayurveda at the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA), Jamnagar; another to Yoga at the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, New Delhi; and the third, at the CCRAS-National Institute of Indian Medical Heritage, Hyderabad, focuses on formal and literary research in traditional medicine.
The report further suggests that India should aim to establish at least five additional WHO Collaborating Centres, including three dedicated to Ayurveda and one each for the Siddha and Unani systems of medicine.
