WHO centre in Gujarat to usher in new era of traditional medicine: PM

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 19

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a roadshow in Ahmedabad with his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth on Tuesday evening, culminating a series of events, including the laying of foundation stone of WHO Traditional Medicine Centre in Jamnagar district and inaugurating a slew of projects in his home state which goes to the polls towards the year-end.

“The establishment of the WHO centre will usher in a new era of traditional medicine globally,” said the PM on the occasion.

The Prime Minister began the day’s engagements with the inauguration of the Banas dairy complex at Deodar, where he also addressed a rally of about one lakh people, largely women dairy farmers, and recalled that India was world’s largest milk producer.

The PM also virtually opened a project for expansion of cheese and whey production at Palanpur, an organic fertiliser and bio-CNG plant at Dama, and virtually laid the foundation stones for four new biogas plants.

The Prime Minister said the establishment of the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) here would usher in an age of traditional medicine globally. “The centre will start the age of traditional medicine in the world in the next 25 years,” he said while listing the benefits of traditional medicine. One condition for setting up the centre is that India would bear the operating costs for the next 10 years. India will also invest about Rs 2,000 crore to set it up.

PM Modi along with the Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth laid the foundation stone for the centre in the presence of WHO DG Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The PM also thanked the UN for accepting India’s proposal and declaring 2023 as International Millet Year.

The PM had started his three-day Gujarat visit on Monday by visiting the Command and Control Centre for Schools in Gandhinagar.

On the concluding day of his visit on Wednesday, he will inaugurate the Global AYUSH Investment and Innovation Summit at Gandhinagar and later attend the Adijati Maha Sammelan in Dahod as well as lay the foundation stone of various development projects. Gujarat will go to the polls in December this year.

At Banas dairy, the PM said India was the world’s largest producer of milk. “When the livelihood of crores of farmers depends on milk, India produces milk worth Rs 8.5 lakh crore annually. This is something that many, including renowned economists, fail to pay attention to. As against this, even the turnover of wheat and rice is not Rs 8.5 lakh crore. And small farmers are the biggest beneficiaries of the dairy sector,” he said.

“Many goals are being achieved simultaneously through Gobardhan (to manage cattle waste). Firstly, it is keeping the villages clean and, secondly, cattle farmers are also getting money for cow dung,’’ he said.

Rs. 8.5L cr yield, India top milk producer

PM said India was the world’s largest producer of milk. “India produces milk worth Rs. 8.5 lakh crore annually. Even the turnover of wheat and rice is not Rs. 8.5 lakh crore. Small farmers are the biggest beneficiaries of the dairy sector,” he said.

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