A senior official from NITI Aayog visited a research institute in Hyderabad that works on India’s traditional medical systems. Prof. (Dr.) M. Srinivas, who holds the Member (Health) position at NITI Aayog under the Government of India, toured the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences – National Institute of Indian Medical Heritage (CCRAS-NIIMH). During his visit, he called for better global standards and increased worldwide awareness of India’s medical heritage.
What the visit covered
Prof. Srinivas spent time at the museum, library and research sections of the institute. He saw a documentary on historical topics including the Rani Rudramadevi inscription, which was developed by the institute as part of the SAHI project. Officials briefed him on the institute’s work in digitising rare manuscripts, managing historical scientific records and running digital portals and repositories related to traditional Indian medicine systems.
What Prof. Srinivas recommended
During his address, Prof. Srinivas made several suggestions for the institute’s future direction:
- Adopt international practices and standards for preserving and maintaining the museum
- Start training courses, certificate programmes and joint post-doctoral programmes to develop skilled staff for heritage preservation
- Promote the institute as an educational tourism destination for medical students and professionals
- Work with regulatory bodies like the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine and the National Medical Commission to reach students and faculty
- Set up smaller museums at IITs and other premier institutions to spread awareness of India’s medical heritage
What this means for you
If you are a student or professional in medical or allied fields, these changes could create new training opportunities and make India’s traditional medical knowledge more accessible through educational programmes and museum displays. The institute’s efforts to digitise manuscripts and improve its global visibility may also make Indian medical heritage more available for research and study. The suggested partnerships with regulatory bodies could eventually lead to better integration of India’s traditional medical knowledge with modern medical education systems.