education

Updated: Jun 19, 2017 15:21 IST

The government is considering modifying undergraduate curricula to incorporate certain elements of modern medicine into traditional medicine and vice versa in a likely step to promote integrative medicine and research in a big way.

Various departments are working on this idea, including the Medical Council of India (MCI) – the medical education regulator in the country.

A group of secretaries is reported to have suggested the idea of additions in syllabus to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a recent meeting.

However, sources in the Union health ministry say no decision has been taken on this so far.

“Change of syllabus is a long-drawn process. There is a thought at the moment,” said a senior health ministry official, requesting anonymity.

“We are in talks with the MCI to see how medical curricula will be cross-cutting, with certain elements of allopathy flown in to Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) courses and of certain AYUSH elements into allopathy courses.”

The move is a part of larger plan to promote holistic wellbeing and make experts from both the systems of medicine open to the idea of working in tandem.

“Around one lakh subcentres in the country will be transformed into wellness centers, and 2500 have already been selected for a pilot,” health minister JP Nadda had said during World Health Day earlier this year.

Last year, New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) started ‘The Centre for Integrative Medicine and Research’ which is a state-of-the-art research centre, where top experts from various disciplines of contemporary medicine will collaborate with Yoga and Ayurveda specialists, both for disease treatment, and for preventive healthcare.

“Both the systems can supplement each other well. It is not only about curing a problem but also help deal with the symptoms,” says AYUSH minister Shripad Yesso Naik.