New Delhi, April 20 : Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on Wednesday announced major schemes to promote the AYUSH industry in the country. While speaking at an inaugural session of the Global AYUSH Innovation and Investment Summit in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, Modi India is embarking on the era of AYUSH and the government is committed to leveraging the opport ty and providing optimum support to the industry in innovation and research and development. The PM announced in the event about three significant schemes for the traditional medicine sector of—AYUSH mark, AYUSH parks and AYUSH visa—which the Centre will soon implement. “India will soon introduce a special AYUSH visa category for foreign nationals who want to come to India to take advantage of the AYUSH therapy,” Modi informed. Giving the example of Kerala, the PM said medical tourism, especially herbal treatment in the Southern state, has augmented its tourism sector. “Heal in India could be the biggest brand of the decade and foster medical tourism in the country,” he added. Meanwhile, Modi also said on the lines of the ISI trademark, the Centre is also working on the AYUSH mark which will be specifically provided to traditional medicine products. “We are going to make a special AYUSH mark. This mark will be applied to the highest quality of AYUSH products made in India,” he announced. PM Modi said the move would amplify the credibility of Made In India AYUSH products and will also augment faith in the traditional medicine system. He also announced that a network of AYUSH parks will be created across India where research and development on AYUSH medicines will take place. “It will open avenues for innovation in the sector while also provide credible and science-backed data on traditional medicines. The data on medicines from the parks will enable more scientific clinical trials on AYUSH medicines,” Modi added. Meanwhile, Modi also announced a significant development for farmers in the herbal plantation that is currently in the planning stage. He said the government is developing a portal to create a digital marketplace to facilitate the farmers with the firms working in the AYUSH sector. “It is very important that the farmers involved in growing medicinal plants should get the facility to easily connect with the market. For this, the government is working on an AYUSH e-marketplace portal where the farmers cultivating medicinal herbs will be able to collaborate with the pharmaceuticals and firms working in the sector,” Modi said. ASH SY 1339