How non-government colleges are dominating India’s AYUSH education boom
Government data reveals that the rapid expansion of AYUSH medical education in India is primarily driven by the private sector, which accounts for over 85% of colleges in Ayurveda and Homoeopathy. The government is actively integrating these traditional systems into the formal national healthcare framework.
Why it matters
The reliance on private institutions for traditional medicine education raises questions about regulatory oversight and the quality of healthcare integration.
As the Centre pushes to widen the role of AYUSH in India’s healthcare system — including through greater coverage, rural outreach and integration with mainstream health services — the country’s AYUSH medical education infrastructure has expanded rapidly. But government data suggests the expansion has been driven largely by non-government institutions.
Of the 541 Ayurveda colleges in April 2024, 467 were non-government — nearly 86% of the total. In Homoeopathy, 236 of 277 colleges, or about 85%, were non-government.
The pattern was similar in other systems. Of the 58 Unani colleges, only 16 were government-run; just three of 17 Siddha colleges and 15 of 71 Yoga and Naturopathy colleges were government institutions. The data clearly indicate that non-government institutions have become an important source of undergraduate medical education in AYUSH.
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