Govt aims to build 12,500 AYUSH health centres, 4,000 this year

New Delhi: Sharing the central government's plan of building 12,500 AYUSH health and wellness centres across India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said 4,000 would be completed this year.

''Ten AYUSH have been inaugurated in Haryana today',' Modi said at the yoga awards organised by AYUSH Ministry in Delhi.

At the award ceremony, PM said AYUSH and yoga were strong pillars of the 'Fit India' movement.

Tracing the roots of yoga to ancient India, Modi said that our texts too highlighted the importance of Ayurveda and Yoga. He also reminded all of Gandhi's view on Ayurveda and yoga, who called naturopathy a way of living.

The PM was giving away Yoga Awards to the winners for Outstanding Contribution for Promotion and Development of Yoga in New Delhi.

He also talked about the importance of yoga and Ayurveda in his life.

He said that attending a program related to Ayush and yoga on the very next day of the launch of Fit India was a pleasant coincidence.

To provide comprehensive primary healthcare, AYUSH components have been integrated into health and wellness centres under Ayushman Bharat scheme.

"These centres will be complementing the National Health Policy, 2017 that insisted upon integration and mainstreaming of AYUSH services in conventional health care delivery system. It would be a historic beginning in mainstreaming of holistic, preventive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative AYUSH care for achieving comprehensive health care," an official release said.

The main focus of these AYUSH centres would be to empower the community for 'self-care' by imbibing AYUSH-based healthy food and lifestyle, social behaviour and use of medicinal plants for primary healthcare.

"Provisions will also be made for diagnostics and medicines for a wide range of health problems. These services will be in addition to the currently ongoing national health programmes," read the release.

Modi also released 12 commemorative postal stamps to honour eminent scholars, practitioners and great master healers of AYUSH systems. "These commemorative postal stamps highlight the great work and acknowledge the achievements of the great master healers of AYUSH systems," the release said.