The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the national standards body of India, has notified 31 Indian standards related to Ayush, which includes 30 herbs and one product (stainless steel neti pot).
These standards were published through gazette notification. Standards authority has also created an additional department for enabling dedicated focus on Ayush at BIS.
"The Ministry of Ayush has appreciated this step and believes this endeavour by BIS for the development of standards and accreditation/certification of Ayush will augment international trade by ensuring quality products and services, provide confidence to manufacturers and bring benefits to consumers by way of reduced costs, enhanced performance and improved safety," BIS said.
Recently, BIS added another pillar to its robust structure of standardisation in India by establishing an additional department with a dedicated focus on Ayush at BIS. It is believed that the move will not only provide an impetus to the process of standardization but also will aid Ministry of Ayush objectives to ensure quality of Ayush products and services at all levels.
BIS has also taken the initiative to formulate International Standards in collaboration with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). On the advice of BIS, a Working Group (WG–10) on ‘traditional medicine’ has been created in the ISO/TC-215 ‘Health Informatics’.
The globalisation and increasing usage of traditional systems of medicine, the need for national and international standards for Ayush systems has become imperative. The Ministry of Ayush has been working to create a vibrant quality ecosystem to facilitate trade and ensure the availability of quality products and services to consumers both at the national and global levels.