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Post Graduate (PG) students of Ayurveda can now perform a variety of general surgery, including orthopaedic, ophthalmology, ENT and dental.

How?

The Centre amended the Indian Medicine Central Council Regulations, 2016, to introduce formal training in the above-mentioned procedures as part of the curriculum for postgraduate students of shalya (general surgery) and shalakya (diseases of ear, nose, throat, ENT, eye, head, oro-dentistry) specialisations.

Highlights 

• Students will be trained in two streams of surgery and will be awarded titles of MS (Ayurved) Shalya Tantra -- (General Surgery and MS (Ayurved) Shalakya Tantra (disease of eye, ear, nose, throat, head and oro-dentistry).
• The training modules for surgical procedures will be added to the curriculum of Ayurvedic studies.
• The decision of the government will allow Ayurveda practitioners to legally perform procedures such as skin grafting, cataract surgery, and root canal treatment.

Amendment

• The development has come after the Central Council of Indian Medicine amended Indian Medicine Central Council (Post Graduate Ayurveda Education) Regulations, 2016, to include the aforementioned regulation to allow the PG students of Ayurveda for practicing the general surgery.
• The Act has been renamed Indian Medicine Central Council (Post Graduate Ayurveda Education) Amendment Regulations, 2020.

IMA's opposition

This has come even as the Indian Medical Association has been openly opposing such policy moves by the Centre, especially the plan to mix modern medicine with the traditional systems of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy (AYUSH).

Source: The Hindu