The Goa government today announced the formation of a separate department -- AYUSH -- to implement parallel system of medicine like ayurveda and homeopathy in the state's health system.
"The focus would be on creating a parallel system on lines with the Directorate of Health Services which is catering to Allopathy. We would have clinics of ayurveda and homeopathy across the government hospitals," Deputy Chief Minister Francis D'Souza told reporters emerging from the state Cabinet meeting.
The state Cabinet today approved 38 posts for AYUSH department like deputy director, ayurveda and homeopathy physicians.
D'Souza said the state will also be home to All India Naturopathy Centre and AYUSH Research Centre.
He said AYUSH facilities would be introduced in district hospitals at the initial stage and later in sub-district hospitals, community health centres and primary health centres.
"The deputy director (AYUSH) is required to monitor and expand AYUSH facilities across the state through the district hospitals," the minister said.
Ayush Ministry officials said that yoga has been added in
the physical activity sessions in various schools for class six to tenth but it has not been made compulsory.
Naik said that a circular has also been issued by the HRD Minister to all the schools to include yoga and while many schools have adopted it, for others, "work is in progress".
"HRD minister has sent circular to schools. Work is in progress. All schools have started adopting," Naik said.
Asked about the total budget of the Ministry for this year's celebrations, Ministry secretary Ajit Sharan said that every ministry is spending its own money and Ayush Ministry is not supporting anybody in terms of funds for celebrating this.
"Although if all is taken collectively, it may be hundreds of crores. But from the AYUSH Ministry side, the sum is around Rs 15 crore," he said.
Naik said that most of the modern day health problems are because of faulty life-style and yoga is an "efficacious" means to overcome these disorders.
"The uniqueness of therapeutic benefits of Yoga is that it can work along with any other drug systems of healthcare and this enables the practitioners of other systems of medicine, including modern medicine experts to prescribe Yoga programme to the patients," he said.
He said that multi-faceted benefits of Yoga in physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual well-being of a person and its long term benefits to the people from all walks of life have been established by large number of inter-disciplinary researches in different fields.
Naik said that there are a number of research works conducted all over the World on different aspects of Yoga and its utility in the promotion of health, prevention and management of various disorders, besides improvement in the physiological functions of the body.
