THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The six-day Global Ayurveda Festival, that showcased various facets of Ayurveda, came to close on Kanakakkunnu Palace grounds on Tuesday evening. Inaugurating the valedictory function, Industries Minister P K Kunhalikutty said that Ayurveda would be given the highest priority. ‘’The world is coming back to nature and Ayurveda provides natural treatment, thus making it the priority in the medical field in the future. The Government is giving all help, but I understand that there is a lot more to be done to achieve the targeted goals,’’ he said. The Festival has put forward an 11-point declaration that mainly calls for the declaration of Kerala as the ‘Ayurveda State of India and to set up a separate ministry for Ayurveda. It also focused on the education sector, by mentioning to add ‘Ayurveda Biology in the school curriculum to make the gen-next aware of this holistic medicinal branch. Establishing a global network to promote authentic products and services by involving an appropriate agency was another highlight of the 11-point declaration . The Minister gave away the awards for the best stalls at Ayur Expo. The prizes for the All-India Photography competition were also distributed on the occasion. 11-Point DeclarationThe Global Ayurveda Festival-2012 resolved that:1. The State of Kerala should be declared as the ‘Ayurveda State of India.’ A separate ministry for Ayurveda for Kerala and an independent ministry for AYUSH a the centre should be established. 2. High priority in government interventions should be given to health education based on ‘Ayurvedic principles and preventive health practices’, in order to create public awareness about the capacity of Ayurveda for enhancing public health and in managing non-communicable diseases. 3. Establish an international trans-disciplinary advanced research centre in Ayurveda in the State.4. A 10-fold increase in the industry turnover should be targeted in the next five years, through innovative, long-term support system to the sector by various agencies of the Government alongside incentives like tax holidays and concessions. 5. State and Central governments should support Centres of Excellence (CoE) in clinical practice in various specialities of Ayurveda, with interdisciplinary perspective. 6. Include Ayurveda biology in school curriculum so that the younger generation is better aware of the contemporary relevance of Ayurveda. 7. India should take the lead to chalk out a joint action programme with the SAARC countries for promoting Ayurveda and tapping the potential of global markets. 8. Set up a certification agency for ‘Authentic Kerala Ayurveda’ products and services by the State Government. 9. Establish a global network to promote authentic Ayurveda products and services by involving an appropriate agency. 10. Along with large-scale production, medicinal plant cultivation should be promoted in the cooperative segment and in small-scale land holdings, with buy-back guarantee of products. Farmers should be given subsidy, grants and soft loans on a long-term basis 11. Along with conventional education, a contemporary model of Ayurveda Gurukula should be attempted on pilot basis, at select places where adequate initiatives and competency are available.
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