The total number of registered practitioners in Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Homoeopathy and Sowa Rigpa (Ayush) systems of medicine has seen a decline of two per cent in five years from 7,73,668 doctors in the year 2017, to 7,55,780 doctors in 2021, according to the Union Ministry of Ayush.

The decline is mainly due to the number of practitioners in the Ayurveda system, even though it still contributes to over 50 per cent of the total number of doctors in the Ayush segment. The number of registered Ayurveda doctors has seen a 11.4 per cent decline from 4,28,884 in 2017 to 3,79,945 in the year 2021.

Registered practitioners in Unani has seen a growth from 49,566 to 50,011, Homoeopathy from 2,84,471 to 3,12,580, Siddha from 8,505 to 9,033, and Naturopathy from 2,242 to 4,158, during the same period. Sowa-Rigpa, which was recognised by the Government of India in the year 2010, reported to have 47 practitioners in the year 2020 and it has grown to 53 in 2021.

The number of institutional qualified (IQ) doctors in the Ayush system, on the other hand, has reported a growth of 14.2 per cent in five years from 2007 to 2021, even as the number of Non-Institutional Qualified (NIQ) practitioners witnessed a decline. The number of NIQ practitioners has decreased around 45 per cent, from 2,15,778 to 1,18,419 during the period.

As on January 1, 2021, there are 7,55,780 registered Ayush doctors/practitioners (including 1,18,419 NIQ) in India. Out of the total number of registered Ayush practitioners, 3,79,945 (50.3%) belong to Ayurveda, while 3,12,580 (41.4%) and 50,011 (6.6%) belong to Homoeopathy & Unani Systems respectively. Only 9,033 (1.2%), 4,158 (0.6%) and 53(0.01%) doctors/practitioners belong to Siddha, Naturopathy and Sowa-Rigpa Systems respectively, said the Ayush in India 2021 report released by the Ministry of Ayush, recently.

“The number of registered Ayush doctors has shown an overall increasing trend from 1980 to 2021. An average annual growth rate of 1.7% was realised in registered Ayush practitioners during this period in 2021,” said the Ministry. “An increase of 43,600 Institutionally Qualified Ayush Practitioners/Doctors has been observed in 2021 as compared to 2020,” it added.

Significant variation in the availability of Ayush doctors per one crore population has been observed since 1980. On an aggregate, Ayush doctors serving per one crore population have varied from 5,582 to 5,555 during the period 1980-2021 with a highest 6,774 in 2000 and lowest at 4,851 in 2019.

As on January 1, 2021, about 5,555 Ayush doctors per one crore population are available in India. Maharashtra and Kerala are the only states where more than 10,000 Ayush doctors (13,478 and 12,813 respectively) are serving per one crore population in 2021. States having 5,000 to 10,000 Ayush doctors serving per one crore population are Himachal Pradesh (9,767), Goa (9,447), Madhya Pradesh (8,331), Gujarat (8011), Karnataka (7,447), Telangana (6,043), Bihar (5,962), Punjab (5,302) and West Bengal (5,115).

The highest percentage of registration of Ayush doctors/practitioners has been reported in the State of Maharashtra (22.2%) followed by Uttar Pradesh (12.5%) and Bihar (9.7%), in the beginning of 2021. About more than 50% of registration of total Ayush doctors/practitioners has been reported in the four major states Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.

Registration of practitioners under Indian System of Medicine and Homoeopathy, who possess recognised medical qualifications as per Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970 and Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973 is being done by State Boards/ Councils. These State Boards/Councils constituted by the State Governments are maintaining the State Register of Ayush registered practitioners. Central Register of Ayush practitioners are also being prepared by the commissions, National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) (erstwhile Central Council of Indian Medicine) and National Commission for Homoeopathy (NCH) (erstwhile Central Council of Homoeopathy). Central Registers are being updated from time to time from State Registers.(source)