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Ayurveda can coexist with allopathy with clinical research investment, insurance integration & digital distribution
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Nandita Vijayasimha, Bengaluru
September 02 , 2026
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Indian Ayurveda industry can coexist with modern medicine by investing in clinical research, integrating with insurance systems, and expanding digital distribution.
According to Mandeep Singh Basu, director, Dr Basu Eye Care Centre, the growth strategy and the future of integrative healthcare will depend on combining Ayurveda's traditional knowledge with evidence-based modern medicine.
Ayurveda is not a boutique wellness pursuit in India but a core pillar of the country's healthcare and economic strategy. India's Ayurveda industry is expanding at a rate few could have dreamed of a decade ago, with sustained government funding, changing insurance systems and a global pivot to preventative and plant-based wellness. As healthcare systems across the world turn towards preventative and holistic health, there is an unprecedented opportunity for India to lead this change by incorporating Ayurveda into mainstream healthcare, he added.
The Ayush market of India has grown tenfold over the last twelve years from an estimated US$ 2.85 billion in 2014 to almost US$ 26.53 billion in 2026 and is projected to reach US$ 36.62 billion in 2031. Ayurveda is the fastest-growing category in this ecosystem, with increasing awareness surrounding holistic wellbeing and preventive health care.
Now this growth is not accidental. It has been supported by a policy ecosystem that is strengthening Ayurveda through investment, infrastructure, research, and regulatory reforms. Perhaps of greatest long-term significance is the change in Ayurveda's payment streams, he said.
Another important driver has been the insurance regulator in India. In April 2024, it required that all retail and public health plans include 170 standardised Ayush therapies in their claims, turning the former out-of-pocket spending into a reimbursable benefit. This is a huge step towards true integrative healthcare because it opens up the financial barriers for patients and enhances access to recognised ayurvedic medicines, he noted.
From being a cottage industry to clinical credibility, the Ayurveda market is shifting from unbranded, loosely regulated cottage-scale manufacturing toward GMP-compliant, standardized, and clinically validated product lines, strengthening consumer trust and positioning Ayurveda as a credible component of modern healthcare, Basu told Pharmabiz in an email.
The Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences announced an initiative named SIDDHI 2.0 to accelerate evidence-based Ayurveda innovation. Moreover, India and Germany recently took their collaboration in the area of traditional and integrative medicine forward at a joint working group meeting in Berlin, focusing on research, regulatory alignment and reimbursement structures - indicating that the credibility of Ayurveda is increasingly being negotiated at a government-to-government level.
By combining clinical research investment, insurance integration, export promotion, and digital distribution, the country is building an infrastructure where Ayurveda and modern medicine can genuinely coexist within the same patient journey - not as competing systems, but as complementary ones.
About 80% of the world's population already uses some sort of traditional medicine or herbal cure. India's strategy positions it to become the natural anchor for that global demand. India's strategy positions it to become the natural anchor for that global demand - not only as a manufacturing powerhouse but also as the site where traditional medicine is being modernised, verified and made insurable at scale, said Basu.
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