Ayush ramps up digital integration to strengthen India’s healthcare ecosystem

Incorporating standardised health terminologies will ensure Ayush interventions become an integral part of broader digital health ecosystems, matching modern health informatics standards, according to Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of Ayush.

The Ayush Ministry has launched a five-day workshop on WHO-ICHI Framework for Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani systems, which marks an important step towards positioning India's traditional medicine systems within the global digital health ecosystem and universal health coverage frameworks.

Kotecha said that this initiative is much more than a coding exercise.

“It represents a transformational step towards positioning India's traditional medical systems within the global scientific, digital, and policy ecosystem,” he said at the inaugural session.

Dr Kavita Jain, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, detailed the long-term policy impacts of incorporating traditional practices into digital documentation and global health systems.

Global operational context was shared by Dr. Geeta Krishnan, Unit Head, GTMC Jamnagar, alongside key addresses from WHO representatives Dr. Robert Jakob, Data Standards and Informatics Team Leader, and Dr Stephane Espinosa, Consultant, WHO, who focused on global interoperability and alignment with digital informatics.

The workshop is being organised by the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) through its World Health Organization Collaborating Centre, the National Institute of Indian Medical Heritage (NIIMH), Hyderabad.

It brings together leading scientific experts, institutional heads, and international informatics professionals to finalise a scientifically robust, layered hierarchy of National Health Intervention Codes (NHIC) for Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani (ASU) systems.

The workshop builds upon the base drafts prepared during the consultative meetings held in May 2026.

The expert-validated repository currently covers 13 specialties, 76 therapies and 714 procedures for Ayurveda; 25 specialties, 130 therapies and 996 procedures for Siddha; and 15 specialties, 179 therapies and 551 procedures for Unani, said the statement.