New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) The government held an industry brainstorming session here to chart a roadmap for strengthening India's global leadership in the AYUSH sector through innovation, quality, exports and international collaboration, an official statement said on Thursday.

Organised in collaboration with the Ministry of AYUSH and the AYUSH Export Promotion Council (AYUSHEXCIL), the session focused on opportunities arising from India's Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), global branding of AYUSH, export facilitation, quality standards, WHO-GMP compliance, the Ayush Quality Mark, scientific validation, innovation, medical value travel, wellness services, and ways to address regulatory and market access challenges.

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said the government's objective was not merely to increase exports but to build globally competitive Indian AYUSH brands.

He described the AYUSH sector as a high-potential sunrise export sector and encouraged the industry to focus on innovation, branding, value addition and quality while leveraging opportunities created by India's expanding network of FTAs.

Agrawal also underlined the role of intermediaries, trade facilitators and other ecosystem partners in connecting Indian AYUSH products with international markets and said the Department of Commerce would continue stakeholder outreach, awareness programmes and capacity-building initiatives in collaboration with AYUSHEXCIL.

Meanwhile, AYUSH Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha stressed the need to accelerate the implementation of flagship initiatives such as Ayush Mark and Ayurveda Aahar to strengthen quality assurance, branding and the global competitiveness of Indian AYUSH products.

He urged industry stakeholders to capitalise on the growing global interest in Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine by improving product quality, packaging, branding and international market readiness. He also highlighted efforts to align Indian standards with international benchmarks to facilitate wider global acceptance of AYUSH products.

AYUSHEXCIL Chairman and Member of Parliament Dr. Anurag Sharma said India was well positioned to emerge as a trusted global hub for holistic healthcare amid the growing global acceptance of traditional medicine. He called for stronger collaboration among the government, industry and research institutions to boost scientific validation, quality assurance, innovation and global branding.

The session concluded with an interactive discussion during which exporters, manufacturers, MSMEs and startups shared suggestions on improving market access, regulatory facilitation, ease of doing business, innovation and international collaboration.

--IANS

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