India's Ayurveda Industry Seeks Government Push to Win New Global Markets

Ayurveda, India's traditional system of medicine and wellness, is being pitched as the country's next big export in healthcare and tourism. Industry leaders say service providers are now looking beyond their usual European customer base to newer regions such as West Asia, East Asia, South Africa, and the CIS countries to grow the business further.

This push comes with a clear ask directed at the Central Government. The Ayurveda Promotion Society, a Kerala-based industry body, has laid out specific demands: officially recognising Ayurveda and wellness tourism as a national priority sector, treating Ayurveda service providers on equal footing with product manufacturers, expanding insurance coverage and cashless treatment options for Ayurveda care, and setting up a dedicated Ayurveda and Wellness Council that includes private industry voices alongside government officials.

One reason for the urgency is competition. Sri Lanka has emerged as a strong rival in the Ayurveda and wellness space, pushing Indian providers to promote their offerings more aggressively to protect India's traditional edge in this field.

Industry figures point out that the sector currently earns far more from services like treatments and wellness retreats than from selling Ayurvedic products, roughly five times as much, yet policy support has not caught up with this shift. There are also concerns that the business model is changing from working directly with institutions to selling straight to individual consumers, which has brought in a spa-culture trend that some worry is diluting the medical and therapeutic seriousness of Ayurveda.

Experts are also calling for more investment in evidence-based research, meaning studies that scientifically prove how well Ayurvedic treatments work, along with better funding, collaborative studies across multiple centres, and a research-friendly environment. This, they argue, would boost Ayurveda's credibility internationally and help it become part of mainstream healthcare systems rather than remaining a niche alternative.

The numbers show why the stakes are high. India's broader AYUSH sector, which includes Ayurveda hospitals, clinics, wellness centres, and medical tourism, has grown enormously, from around ₹21,697 crore in 2014-15 to an estimated ₹1.67 lakh crore in 2025-26. This growth has been helped by government programmes like the National AYUSH Mission and the Ayush Visa, alongside rising global interest in traditional and integrative medicine.

While Kerala remains the leader in India's Ayurveda industry, states such as Gujarat, Uttarakhand, and Goa are quickly building up their own capacity in this space, signalling a wider geographic spread of the sector's growth.

Looking ahead, private players say the next phase depends heavily on government support. Suggestions include easier access to finance and infrastructure funding, simplified regulatory approvals, formal integration of Ayurveda into national health programmes, incentives to adopt digital health tools, stronger quality standards and accreditation systems, and support for training skilled workers and securing a steady supply of medicinal plants used in treatments.