Ayush healthcare system to train rural youths

The Ministry of Ayush and the Ministry of Rural Development have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop skilled manpower for the Ayush healthcare system. The agreement aims to enable rural youth to become a skilled workforce in the sector. In the first phase, the program will train 22,000 rural youths in FY2023-24, with a minimum placement guarantee of 70%. The signing ceremony was attended by Union Ministers Sarbananda Sonowal and Giriraj Singh.

The program will provide rural youth with an opportunity to be trained in the National Skills Qualification Framework-aligned courses available on the National Qualification Register under the Deen Dayal Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) scheme. The courses to be offered under this framework include Panchakarma Technician, Panchakarma Assistant, Ayurvedic Masseur, Kshara Karma Technician, and Cupping Therapy Assistant.

The union minister for Ayush Sarbananda Sonowal said the collaboration would boost self-employment and empower rural youth and women, increasing employment opportunities in rural areas. The Union Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Giriraj Singh, said the MoU would be a landmark in empowering women's self-help groups and rural poor youth. The initial target is to train 32,000 women and will be increased going forward.

The training program will be funded as per DDU-GKY cost norms. The Ministry of Rural Development and DDU-GKY will communicate with the states and union territories to enlist willing self-help group members and rural poor youth for the courses. The Ministry of Ayush will provide its institutes for conducting the courses, training, and certification of the aspirants/candidates. The ministry will also depute nodal agencies across the country to ensure mobilization, counseling, training, placement, and tracking of candidates as per DDU-GKY norms in their respective designated states.

Both ministries will also work on identifying permissible medicinal plantation activities, plant protection, and inter-cropping to generate additional streams of income under the relevant schemes of the Ministry of Rural Development. Through this MoU, it is expected to create synergy and convergence between both ministries, enabling the fulfillment of the larger goal of community development and poverty alleviation in rural areas.