New Delhi, Oct 25 (IANS): Ayurveda is currently recognised as a traditional medicine in more than 30 countries and its acceptance is fast increasing globally, said Mahendra Munjpara, Minister of State in the Ministry of Ayush.

Speaking at the Ayurveda Day 2022 programme in New Delhi held recently, he added, "Ayush, herbal products and medicines are exported to more than 100 countries. To boost the products and services in the field of Ayush, Export Promotion Councils have been set up globally. As per the Research and Information System Centre for Developing Countries report, the current turnover of Indian Ayush industry is $18.1 billion and the market size has grown by 17 per cent between 2014 and 2020."

The seventh Ayurveda Day was celebrated in a grand ceremony in India and at the international level. This year's, the day was celebrated with the theme 'Har Din Har Ghar Ayurveda' so as to propagate benefits of Ayurveda to larger and grassroot community. The six-week long celebration saw huge participation from across the country and more than 5,000 events were organised by the Ministry of Ayush institutes/councils, with the support of more than 26 Ministries of the Union Government and Ministry of External Affairs India missions and embassies.

The dignitaries present at the event included Arjun Munda, Union Tribal Affairs Minister; Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Ayush Minister; Meenakshi Lekhi, Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture; Mahendra Munjpara, Minister of State for Ayush; Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ayush Ministry; Anil Kumar Jha, Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs; Pramod Kumar Pathak, Special Secretary, Ayush Ministry; and Tanuja Manoj Nesari, Director, All India Institute of Ayurveda; along with representative of foreign embassies and WHO-SEARO.

Chief Guest of the event, Munda said, "Ayurveda is India's ancient tradition and wealth. Ayurveda can be nurtured in association with the people living in the forests. Ayurveda is the only medical science that talks about prevention of disease, not treatment after getting sick."

On the occasion, Sonowal said, "The objective of 'Har Din Har Ghar Ayurveda' campaign is to take Ayurveda and its potential to the masses. Ayurveda is now known globally and this is because of the continuous and untiring efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Ayurveda is a science of prevention of disease. It's ancient knowledge and we are doing some impressive research work in the Ayush sector."

Lekhi said, "It's time to appreciate the science of our ancestors. A science which is more than 5,000-years-old is celebrated on the occasion of the Ayurveda Day in the supervision of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He always promoted the science of Ayurveda and in last few years it has reached to its peak."

Nesari said, "The 'I support Ayurveda' campaign got enormous support from all, as more than 1.7 crore people participated. More than 56 lakh people participated in various programmes based on Ayurveda Day 2022 in six-week long programme."

On this occasion, a book on 'The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India' and 'The Ayurvedic Formulary of India', was released. To create awareness about the health benefits of medicinal plants, a species-specific national campaign on Ashwagandha -- a health promoter -- was launched by

the Ayush Ministry. The first prize winners of five short video competitions were felicitated by the Union Ayush Minister and other dignitaries.