Maha: NRHM doctors pay disparity to be addressed soon, says AYUSH Minister Sarbananda Sonowal

Pune: Union minister of AYUSH, Sarbananda Sonowal in a press meet recently announced that the issues faced by the doctors working under a contract for the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) would be dealt by the Ministry of AYUSH and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) soon. 

The NRHM has long been complaining that their salary is less in comparison to other states. During the press meet in Maharashtra's Pune, the minister stated that they have taken measures to raise the salary of these doctors.

Also Read:Ayurveda Doctors to be paid equal to Allopathy Doctors: Supreme Court

The minister who visited the National Institute of Naturopathy, Pune (NIN), observed the various ongoing activities in the institute and interacted with the staff and students. 

Sonowal, according to a media report in the Hindustan Times, said, "The ministry of Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy) and the ministry of health and family Welfare are working together to address the problems faced by doctors. Both ministries are involved in the prevention of diseases and the promotion of health at the ground level. We will address the pay disparity issue faced by doctors who are working for the past many years."

The minister added, "Many people have associated themselves with our traditional practices. People should know about the 5,000-year-old treatment modalities developed under the Ayush sector. Ayush products have globally become popular and its credibility has seen wider acceptance. The size of the Ayush product market until 2014 was only three billion dollars, and now it has touched 18.2 billion dollars."

Sonowal said, "Ayush system has been accepted widely and offered many things to the humanity and has the potential to deliver even more. Our Prime Minister has taken the Ayush sector far ahead with his tireless efforts like creating an independent ministry and instilling a sense of respect for India in every person of the world through yoga."

Meanwhile, the minister also inaugurated the Centre for Integrated Telemedicine Services at the Symbiosis International University (SIU) campus in Lavale, which is set to provide telemedicine consultation to the patients receiving treatment at Symbiosis University Hospital and Research Centre (SUHRC), reports the Indian Express.

The minister observed that telemedicine services would be provided to patients across all clinical disciplines of Allopathy via the SUHRC centres set up at around 22 villages. 

The minister is reported to have felicitated Ayurvedic experts Dr Shubhash Ranade and Dr Sunanda Ranade and held an interaction with the deans of AYUSH Medical Colleges in Pune to get to know about their issues and form of functioning. 

Also Read:Ayush medical tourism, vocational training courses to boost employment generation: Union AYUSH Minister