Ayurveda in Modern India: AYUSH, Colleges and Hospitals

Ayurveda inside India's health system

In India, Ayurveda is a recognized, regulated medical system, not only a wellness choice. A 2025 review describes a "well established and regulated" traditional medicine system that runs undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD courses and has the largest network of colleges among the Ayush systems. [1] The word Ayush groups Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy. [2] This page describes the structure from official and published sources. It does not rank or recommend any clinic, college or provider.

The Ministry of AYUSH

A department for Indian systems of medicine and homoeopathy was established in 1995 under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and the Ministry of Ayush gained ministry status on 9 November 2014. [3] India's Ministry of AYUSH is responsible for the education, research and promotion of these systems. [2] A 2025 review of Ayush in the National Health Policy 2017 reports 3801 Ayush hospitals and 36068 Ayush dispensaries across the country, with considerable disparity between States and Union Territories. [3]

The National Commission and the national register

India's National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Act, 2020 received the President's assent on 20 September 2020. It defines the Indian System of Medicine as Ashtang Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Sowa-Rigpa. [4] Key points of the Act:

• It created a National Commission with separate Autonomous Boards, including a Board of Ayurveda and a Board of Ethics and Registration. [4]
• The Board of Ayurveda determines standards of education at undergraduate, postgraduate and super-speciality levels. [4]
• A National Register and State Registers of practitioners are kept. Only a person enrolled in the State or National Register may practice the system as a qualified practitioner, and breaking this rule can lead to imprisonment of up to one year, a fine, or both. [4]
• It provides for a National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for undergraduate courses, including the Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS). [4]
• It repeals the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970, and dissolves the Central Council of Indian Medicine from a date the Central Government sets. [4]

The training pathway is explained in Ayurvedic training in India, and titles in Ayurvedic titles explained.

Colleges and training

The 2025 review counted 450 undergraduate Ayurveda colleges with 31,790 seats and 140 institutes teaching postgraduate courses with 4,600 seats. [1] The same review names problems that have existed for a long time: colleges unevenly spread across States, fewer seats in the public sector, gaps in clinical teaching, and no streamlined national online register of Ayurveda practitioners. [1] (The 2020 Act provides for such a register; this review says it still needed to be put in place.)

A separate 2025 review of curriculum reform says recent changes created a competency-based curriculum that blends modern medical sciences, clinical skills and research methods with traditional texts. It also reports continuing challenges: inadequate infrastructure, faculty shortages, limited research funding and differences in standards between States. [5]

Ongoing debates

One public debate concerned a notification of the Central Council of Indian Medicine that made modern surgical procedures compulsory training for postgraduate students in two Ayurveda streams, Shalya Tantra and Shalakya Tantra. A 2021 article says practitioners from biomedical sciences voiced concerns while Ayurveda professionals defended the move, and that the standard of education in many Ayurveda colleges is poor because of low patient numbers. [6] The article's authors argued that skilled, well-trained Ayurveda surgeons should be allowed to practice but that a blanket license for all degree holders without confirmed clinical training would be unreasonable. [6] This is one view in an active debate, not a settled rule.

Products made in India and sold abroad

Herbal and Ayurvedic products are an important part of the Indian marketplace. The FDA says that in India these products are regulated as traditional medicines, while in the United States they could be regulated as drugs, dietary supplements, conventional foods or cosmetics depending on the circumstances. [2] Because of this, a product legal in India is not automatically legal in the United States. [2] The FDA also says Ayurvedic products as a category are not specifically defined under US law. [2] See regulation of Ayurvedic products.

What this means for you

• Training and regulation inside India do not guarantee the quality of every product or practitioner, and a degree is not evidence that a treatment works. Evidence label for most Ayurvedic treatments: insufficient evidence. [7]
• If you travel for care, see Ayurveda retreats and travel for treatment and how to check a practitioner.
• Tell your own clinician about any Ayurvedic product you use. [7]