Rs.9.2 bn to promote Indian systems of medicine

December 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Drawing lessons from a bruising legal battle on turmeric, the government has digitised traditional Indian remedies and healing systems to prevent international pharmaceutical companies from claiming patents on them, parliament was informed Thursday. "The Traditional Knowledge Digital Library contains details of all known Indian remedies and healing processes and the manner in which herbs and other items are used to effect this," Prithviraj Chavan, the minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said during question hour in the Rajya Sabha.

November 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Medicinal formulations in the classical Indian texts of Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha are being transcribed and then would be patented in five international languages, including German and Japanese, to prevent their misappropriation, the Lok Sabha was informed Monday. In a written reply, Minister of State for Health and Family Affairs S.

November 29th, 2009 BANGALORE - GE Healthcare, the $17-billion unit of General Electric, has initiated a project to provide IT solutions to Indian hospitals for affordable treatment. The $1.5-billion GE Healthcare's IT business has tied up with the Delhi-based Diwan Chand Aggarwal (DCA) imaging research centre for a pilot project to develop solutions that integrate the various functions of hospitals to deliver quality healthcare.

November 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Yoga guru Baba Ramdev taught the art to doctors here on Thursday. Doctors from over 26 countries are attending the two-day International Symposium on Medicinal and Nutraceutical Plants.

November 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Alternative health remedies have gained immense popularity in the health care marketplace. Now, a new study sheds light on how people choose among the various available remedies.

November 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology in Roorkee, in Uttrakhand, India, have confirmed that yoga keeps heart healthy. In the study, which will be published in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Medical Engineering and Informatics, heart rate variability - a sign of a healthy heart - has been shown to be higher in yoga practitioners than in non-practitioners.

November 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The European Union (EU) is not opposed to exports of generic medicine by Indian companies through its ports, European Commissioner for Trade Catherine Ashton said here Friday. Answering a query on the confiscation of Indian consignments of generic medicine in European ports, which were bound for other countries, she said EU would soon resolve the issue.

September 30th, 2009 Alliance Data Systems in deal with Pacific DentalDALLAS — Marketing and transactions services provider Alliance Data Systems Corp. said Wednesday that it signed a deal with Pacific Dental Services to provide patient financing for certain dental procedures through a private label credit card program.

September 30th, 2009 TORONTO - Canada's Imaging Dynamics Company (IDC), which has just sold its high-end digital radiography (DR) systems to three hospitals in Mumbai, said Tuesday it was making a big push into the expanding Indian medical market. The digital radiography (DR) systems replace the age-old film-based X-rays systems that are still used in most Indian hospitals.

September 25th, 2009 HYDERABAD - India's exports of drugs, pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals grew by 29 percent last fiscal to Rs.39,538 crore (around $9.35 billion) compared to the previous fiscal, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said Friday. "In recent times, the Indian pharmaceutical sector has emerged as one of the major contributors to Indian exports with export earnings rising from a negligible amount in early 1990s to Rs.29,139.57 crore by 2007-08," Sharma said while addressing the Indo-Africa Pharma Business Meet here.

September 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India will soon produce raw material for Oseltamivir, one of the drugs used in treatment of Influenza A (H1N1) virus, health ministry officials said Thursday. The move will help bring down the cost of the drug.

September 14th, 2009 SRINAGAR - Afraid of flu and other respiratory aliments which often resemble swine flu? Use ginger, tulsi (basil) and black pepper as part of traditional preventive measures suggested by experts of Indian systems of medicine. The Jammu and Kashmir government's department of Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) has set up a group of experts to suggest remedies useful in the prevention and treatment of flu-like diseases.

September 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The world's oldest surviving system of medicine called "Sowa-Rigpa" -popular in the country's Himalayan region and said to be taught by Gautam Buddha himself - got official approval from the Indian government Thursday. The decision to approve it as part of the Indian medicine system was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and later announced by Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni.

September 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Indian Dental Association (IDA) has lauded a leading US chewing gum maker's oral healthcare initiative in this country, saying it would bring on a common platform the various stakeholders in the field. The launch of the Wrigley Oral Healthcare Programme (WOHP) in India will bring dental professionals and students together, develop research initiatives and exchange programmes and encourage clinical research on plaque reduction and saliva stimulus, IDA president, Lt.

September 7th, 2009 SHIMLA - Himachal Pradesh plans to promote ayurveda by setting up 12 'panchkarma' centres in the state by December-end, Health Minister Rajeev Bindal said Tuesday. "To promote the ancient Indian art of healing through ayurveda, the government would set up 12 panchkarma centres in the state.