Budget 2026 Puts AYUSH at Core of Healthcare Push
Five regional AYUSH medical hubs, new Ayurveda institutes and allied health training to drive jobs and global wellness leadership
- Five AYUSH-led regional medical hubs to integrate traditional and modern healthcare
- Three new All India Institutes of Ayurveda to boost education and research
- One lakh allied health professionals to be trained in five years
- WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar to be strengthened
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 1st Feb: The Union Budget 2026-27 has laid out a comprehensive roadmap to scale up India’s AYUSH ecosystem, positioning traditional medicine as a central pillar of integrated healthcare, education and employment generation.
Presenting the Budget, Nirmala Sitharaman announced a new scheme to support States in setting up five regional AYUSH-led medical hubs. These hubs will combine Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy with modern diagnostics and post-treatment rehabilitation facilities, strengthening continuum-of-care models and easing the burden on tertiary hospitals.
The proposed hubs are expected to act as major employment engines, creating opportunities for doctors, therapists, nurses, paramedics, caregivers and allied health professionals across clinical, research and wellness services.
To strengthen education and research, the Budget also announced the establishment of three new All India Institutes of Ayurveda (AIIA). These institutions will expand training capacity, promote clinical excellence and help build a skilled workforce aligned with integrative healthcare models.
As part of the broader AYUSH expansion, the government plans to introduce 10 new allied health disciplines, including optometry, anaesthesia, applied psychology and behavioural health, with a target of training one lakh allied health professionals over the next five years. AYUSH pharmacies and drug testing laboratories will also be upgraded to ensure better quality control, standardisation and global certification of traditional medicine products.
A significant global dimension of the initiative is the proposed strengthening of the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GTMC) in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The centre is envisioned as a global hub for evidence-based research, training and policy development, enhancing India’s leadership role in setting international standards for traditional and integrative medicine.
The Budget further outlined plans to train 1.5 lakh caregivers over the next five years to meet growing demand for elderly care, rehabilitation and long-term wellness services.
Taken together, the AYUSH-focused measures in Budget 2026 reflect a strategic shift—treating traditional medicine not just as a cultural heritage, but as a scalable healthcare and economic sector integrated with diagnostics, education and global research, in line with India’s long-term healthcare and wellness growth agenda.
