New Delhi, Aug 3 (IANS): About 12,121 Ayush Health and Wellness Centres (AHWCs), now renamed as Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (Ayush), under Ayushman Bharat are functional in the country, with the highest in Rajasthan, Minister of State for Ayush, Prataprao Jadhav, informed the Parliament.

This is from a total of 12,500 units of existing Ayush dispensaries and sub-health centres approved to be upgraded as Ayushman Arogya Mandirs in the States/UTs under the centrally sponsored National Ayush Mission (NAM) scheme, the Minister said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

With 2,019 functional Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, Rajasthan leads in the states, followed by Uttar Pradesh (1,034), Madhya Pradesh (800), Himachal Pradesh (740) and Kerala (700).

While Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu have the least -- only one, Delhi and Ladakh have none. Other states with the least number of Ayushman Arogya Mandirs include Puducherry (4), Andaman & Nicobar Islands (6) and Lakshadweep (7), he informed.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Ayush said that it plans to roll out the NABH (National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers) entry-level certification to 1,000 Ayushman Arogya Mandir by September. Of this, 750 have been certified so far.

To launch the NABH Ayush Entry Level Certification (AELC), the Ministry said it has partnered with the Quality Council of India (QCI).

It is also organising 10,000 geriatric camps across the country from June to September that focus on the specific healthcare needs of the elderly population.

Further, the minister informed the Parliament that 541 Ayurveda, 58 Unani, 17 Siddha, and 277 Homeopathy colleges or educational institutes have been established in the academic year 2023-24 in the country -- a marked rise since 2014.

There has also been an increase in the number of seats in the undergraduate (UG) Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, and Homoeopathy courses and postgraduate (PG) courses since 2014 -- from 32,256 to 64,812 and 1,891 to 7,799 respectively.