Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 1 ( IANS): Union Ayush Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday said there was a huge potential and scope for young entrepreneurs to launch startups in various domains of the Ayush sector and they must leverage the opportunities arising in the sector.

Sonowal said this here while speaking after inaugurating the National Arogya Fair organised as part of the 5th edition of the five-day Global Ayurveda Festival (GAF 2023).

"Young entrepreneurs can launch startups in areas of novel drug manufacturing, development of Ayush instrument, diagnostic and tools. On World Ayurveda Day, the government launched Ayush Startup Challenge for our young and dynamic brains in this direction," the Union Minister said, adding they have inked MoUs with many countries for cooperation in traditional medicine.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan who is Chairman of GAF 2023, said of all non-communicable diseases-related deaths, 77 per cent of them occur in low and middle income countries.

"As per NITI Aayog's figures, the human impact of non-communicable diseases in India is most severe among individuals above 30 years of age. In this context, Indian systems of medicines, especially Ayurveda, can play a significant role in addressing emerging health problems," said Muraleedharan.

He said that Ayush exports from India have increased from Rs 9,000 crore in 2014 to Rs 13,000 crore in 2020, and it shows the strength of Ayurveda and reaffirms the global interest in this form of medicine given the rising prevalence of non-communicable and lifestyle diseases worldwide.