Govt to create digital registry for ayurveda practitioners researching cow urine: AYUSH Ministry

The Ayush Ministry has proposed the inclusion of 19 Ayurvedic, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) treatment packages in the cashless health insurance scheme Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).

New Delhi:The government will create a digital platform on which Ayurveda practitioners researching medicinal values of cow urine can register and upload their findings, an AYUSH Ministry official said on Tuesday.

'Panchgavya', a mixture of five ingredients, including a cow's urine, milk and dung, has not shown any definitive results in cancer cure as of now, AYUSH Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha said.

But studies are underway to determine its effects on the disease, he said, adding that 'Panchgavya' is used in traditional Hindu rituals.

There is a tie-up between the ministry and the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, to study this, Kotecha said on the sidelines of an event to list the achievements of the AYUSH Ministry in the first 100 days of the Modi government's second term.

"We are going to create an IT (Information Technology) based registry on which all Ayurveda practitioners researching cow urine can register themselves and upload pieces of evidence of their research which will be validated by us," he said.

"In this way, all research will be documented and vetted. As of now, there is no evidence to say that 'gau mutra' (cow urine) is working in the treatment of cancer, but research is underway," Kotecha said.

Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Naik said in primary health centres in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district, the ministry is facilitating a high impact research project for the intervention of Ayurveda on childbirth to establish the effectiveness of 'Garbhini Paricharya'.

'Garbhini Paricharya' is a traditional ayurvedic intervention for ante-natal care with 10,000 expectant mothers as subjects.

In the area of research on medicinal plants, the ministry has earmarked land for the Institute for High Altitude Medicinal Plants in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district.

Naik said the species-specific campaign on Tinospora, which is also called the 'amrita for life', has been initiated.

Eleven projects have been sanctioned on the propagation of Guduchi, a plant that has the ability to improve the immune system, he said.