FICCI-CISSA Curtain-raiser Event Held for Global Ayurveda Festival 2020

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
As a prelude to the 4th edition of Global Ayurveda Festival (GAF 2020), scheduled to be held from May 16 to 20 in Angamaly, a curtain raiser event was organized by FICCI in association with the Centre for Innovation in Science and Social Action (CISSA) the organizers of the 4th Global Ayurveda Festival, at the Sushma Swaraj Bhawan in New Delhi on March 5.

The 4th edition of Global Ayurveda Festival (GAF 2020), is scheduled to be held from May 16 to 20. The vision for this global event is to tap Global Markets, Research & Medical Tourism Potential, have focussed sessions on African, ASEAN & European Nations, address Ayurveda and Child Health and Tap Global Market Place, Research and Medical Tourism Potential.

Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, Shripad Yesso Naik, Union Minister of State for AYUSH, and V Muraleedharan, Union Minister of State for External Affairs, held interactions with the delegates including diplomats and industry chieftains at the curtain raiser event, Sangita Reddy, Chairperson- FICCI, T S Tirumurti, Secretary-Economic Relations, Ministry of External Affairs, Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH, also addressed the gathering. Ambassadors and diplomats from over 50 countries attended this event along with industry, academia and media.

Speaking at the gathering, Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Railways, said, the curtain raiser event held at the Sushma Swaraj Bhawan is a tribute to the late Sushma Swaraj, the visionary behind the Ministry of Ayush. It is to her credit that she revitalised the idea of Ayurveda which was long forgotten, Goyal said.

Adding that it is the holistic vision of Prime Minister Modi to promote various forms of traditional healthcare system, the Minister said Global Ayurveda Festival will be a step forward towards this effort of promoting Ayurveda. The real rich offering of Ayurveda is that all should remain happy and healthy. Without innovation in Ayurveda we cannot get global recognition, he added.

Speaking at the GAF 2020 curtain raiser event, Shripad Yesso Naik, Union Minister of State for AYUSH, said that his ministry has signed 22 federal level MoUs for cooperation in the field of traditional medicine. V Muraleedharan, Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs, pointed out that Ayurveda can play an important role in curing the diseases rising out of modern lifestyle and that there is a need for global mainstreaming. International cooperation is significant here and to push this further experts have been deputed in Indian missions abroad to promote it internationally, he added.

TS Tirumurti, Secretary (Economic Relations), Ministry of External Affairs, who spoke at the forum, said the Global Ayurveda Festival (GAF) has played a considerable role in being a bridge between Ayurveda and the global fraternity and in opening new opportunities for businesses in this sector. This year an expected participation of 5000 delegates from over 50 countries is expected, he said.

Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Union Ministry of AYUSH said that Ayurveda is undergoing a transformational evolution and in the next 5 years we will witness a global resurgence of Ayurveda.

Dr Sangita Reddy, President, FICCI, opined that Ayurveda has evolved, become contemporary and will be introduced to the world through the Global Ayurveda Festival. Ayurveda will soon no longer be alternative healthcare, but will be mainstream healthcare, she said adding that Ayurveda and Yoga are not just health initiatives but happiness initiatives.

Dr G G Gangadharan, President, CISSA & Secretary General, Global Ayurveda Festival 2020, said that healthcare in India is unique and the country stands as one of the largest healthcare providers in the world. Adding that Ayurveda has been underutilised and that it can play a greater role in lifestyle related chronic diseases, he said that GAF 2020 will galvanise Ayurveda sector with a focus on Ayurveda Medical Tourism.

At the heart of GAF is the idea of promotion of ‘authentic’ Ayurveda across the world and foster meaningful collaborations between modern and traditional sciences for effectively taking on the unique health challenges of the The Global Ayurveda Festival will have several more entities from various ministries including AYUSH, Commerce and Industry, MSME, Tourism, External Affairs etc., which will take the event to a higher plane. The Festival looks towards putting in place an International Cooperation Conclave so as to tap the potential of the global market place, research initiatives and medical tourism opportunities.

The GAF 2020 will have three major components – an International Seminar, a Global Ayurveda Exhibition and an International Cooperation Conclave. Serious efforts will be initiated for the integration of Indian Ayurveda with the ASEAN, African and European counterparts in the Festival.

The Global Ayurveda Festival 2020 will witness presence of the best among the international Ayurveda fraternity, who would converge in Angamaly to learn, experience, collaborate, progress and expand. GAF 202 is being lined up as an event that would meet the needs of all – from students to scientists, from practitioners to policy makers and from educationalists to entrepreneurs.

Ayurveda Exhibition at GAF will have exhibits like drugs, technologies, products and services in medical tourism, medicinal plants, research etc. Planned as a truly global festival, GAF 2020 will be a platform to coordinate the efforts of all committed members from various countries to place Ayurveda as a global system of medicine.

Ayurveda Medical Association of India (AMAI), Ayurveda Hospital Management Association, Ayurveda Medicine Manufacturers Organisation of India, Ayurveda Drugs Manufacturers Association are some of the other partners of the event.