Union Minister of Ayush and Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday laid the foundation stone for ‘Ayush Diksha’, a first of its kind centre for development of human resources for Ayush professionals of the future.

This state-of-the-art centre will be developed within the campus of Central Ayurveda Research Institute, Bhubaneswar.

Speaking at the event, Mr Sonowal said that the Ayush movement has gained a lot of prominence in the last ten years and the country is moving towards an integrated medicine approach where an empowered Ayush system of medicine will also be used along with the modern medicine system.

”As we begin the journey of Ayush Diksha centre here today, this centre will enable the Ayush professionals to hone up their skills and upscale their dexterity in providing world class patient care services to the people of the country,” he said, adding that it will prove as a catalyst to the powerful Ayush movement.

The minister said, “Under the inspiring leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ayush movement has regained its strength. We know how Yoga has revolutionised the world towards a movement of healthy living. With a focussed approach to enable and empower other traditional medicines of India, we are confident that Modi’s vision of a Swastha Bharat will be achieved. The integrated medicinal approach will prove to be a boon for the people of the country as they can move towards healing their ailments as well as enriching their quality of life by empowering their physical and mental well being.”

The institution will offer training programmes for Ayush professionals, especially those from Ayurveda, as it aims to collaborate with national institutes of prominence for capacity development, strengthening human resources, facilitate research and development, achieve self-sustainability with an objective to generate revenue.

The Ayush Diksha centre is being built with a budget of Rs 30 crores. It will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities including two auditoriums, 40 modern rooms with all amenities, suites for VIPs, dedicated space for a natural library, discussion rooms, modular kitchen, dining lounge, among other amenities.