Chennai, Dec 19 (IANS): Ayush Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha on Thursday urged for partnerships with IITs to facilitate startup opportunities in Siddha.
He gave the call at the 8th Siddha Day celebration on the theme 'Siddha for Public Health', organised at the Anna Centenary Library Auditorium, Kotturpuram, in Chennai.
Kotecha commended the woman power of Siddha scholars who achieved accolades in academics and mini projects. He also congratulated the inclusion of Kabasura kudineer as a drug for the National Clinical Management Protocol for Covid-19.
"The young generation must capitalise on these opportunities in Siddha," the Secretary said, while urging "hand-holding with IITs to facilitate start-up opportunities in Siddha through Central Council for Research in Siddha (CCRS), Ministry of Ayush".
"The out-performance of the Ayush sector was 8-fold in the last 10 years," he said.
Calling it the "golden era" of the Ayush sector, he urged emerging Siddha doctors to utilise this opportunity.
Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Ayush Prataprao Jadhav in his virtual address to the gathering, expressed happiness for organising the 8th Siddha Day. He called for planning a Siddha expo for wide circulation of different aspects of Siddha and modern developments.
Jadhav also pressed the need for integration of the ancient Siddha system of medicine with modern medicine by celebrating Siddha Day.
The event saw participation from 1,500 faculties of Siddha, scholars and students.
A medicinal plants expo comprising 240 authentic live plants and 130 raw materials, equipment used by ancient Siddhars, ancient books and life history of Siddha stalwarts, palm leaf manuscripts, and various therapies of Siddha medicine were also displayed at the event. The Siddhayitool which is used for self-assessment of the body constitution was made freely available at the venue. Siddha Formulary of India, Part 3 (Tamil version) and souvenirs of the 8th Siddha Day and Proceedings of National Conference on Ancient Wisdom of Siddha Medicine in Preventive and Promotive Healthcare organised by the CCRS were released during the event.