Patanjali signs historic agreement with Indian Army; 60 lakh ex-servicemen and their families to receive free treatment

Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali signed a historic agreement with the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare under the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) and Patanjali Yoggram, under which ex-servicemen and their families will now receive free treatment at Patanjali.

There will be no financial cap on treatment costs related to Yoga, Ayurveda, and Naturopathy. Nearly 60 lakh ex-servicemen and their families are expected to benefit.

Advertisement

The agreement was signed by Major General MPS Gill (GOC, Uttarakhand Sub-Area, decorated with Vishisht Seva Medal) and Patanjali founder Baba Ramdev, followed by an exchange of documents.

Addressing the gathering at the Mini Auditorium, Patanjali University, Ramdev said that saints and soldiers both serve the nation in their own ways.

Expressing gratitude to the Indian Army, he said it was an honour for Patanjali to be associated with the armed forces. He urged Major General Gill to extend this initiative beyond ex-servicemen to serving soldiers as well, to which the General responded positively.

Ramdev highlighted that Patanjali is the only centre in the world admitting over 3,000 patients at a time, with a target of increasing the capacity to 5,000 in the near future.

He added that soon Patanjali would begin modern medical surgeries as well. Ramdev asserted that Yoga and Ayurveda have successfully treated critical illnesses such as cancer, hypertension, diabetes, heart blockages, and spinal disorders, backed by thousands of documented cases.

Major General MPS Gill, while speaking on the occasion, said that although this agreement took time to materialise, it will directly benefit millions of ex-servicemen, and efforts will also be made to include serving soldiers.

He praised Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna for their dedicated efforts, and underlined Patanjali’s unique contribution of creating an integrated medical model combining Yoga, Ayurveda, Naturopathy, and Allopathy. He compared this holistic approach to “two tracks of a railway line working together in harmony.”

Acharya Balkrishna, General Secretary of Patanjali Yogpeeth, said Patanjali has always believed in innovation and holistic health.

Calling Baba Ramdev “an unofficial spokesperson of soldiers” with patriotism embedded in his heart, he stressed that Ayurveda is not just traditional medicine but a way of life deeply integrated into Indian households.

He announced that all ex-servicemen will receive Patanjali’s ‘Swadeshi Samriddhi Card’ free of cost, which also includes an accident insurance cover of ₹10 lakh.

The agreement was signed by Col. Jitendra Kumar, Regional Director ECHS, Dehradun and Swami Aryadev, Head of Services, Patanjali Yoggram. Col. Kumar noted that this was the first agreement between the Army and Patanjali under ECHS, fulfilling a long-pending demand of ex-servicemen to access AYUSH-based treatments.

The event was coordinated by Dr. Sangeeta Singh.

Dignitaries present included: VSM GOC, Uttarakhand Sub-Area; Brig. Parikshit Singh, Commandant, Military Hospital, Dehradun; Brig. G.S. Bhatia, Commandant, Military Hospital, Roorkee; Brig. K.P. Singh, Commandant, BEG & Centre, Roorkee; Col. M.S. Bisht, Director, ECHS, Uttarakhand Sub-Area; Col. Satpal Ahlawat, Director, ECHS Polyclinic, Roorkee; Cdr. Upendra Singh Cheema, Director, ECHS Polyclinic, Raiwala; from Patanjali — Sadhvi Devpriya, Anshul, Parul, Brig. T.C. Malhotra, Rakesh Kumar, service and department heads of Patanjali Yogpeeth units, along with BNYS students of Patanjali University.