This Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2128, answered on August 1, 2025, by the Minister of State IC of the Ministry of AYUSH, addresses the shortage of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) doctors in India.
The response indicates that while the Ministry of AYUSH acknowledges the issue, the primary responsibility for increasing the number of AYUSH doctors, and for measures related to their training, recruitment, retention, and deployment, rests with the respective State/UT Governments, as Public Health is a State subject.
As of January 1, 2023, the total number of AYUSH Registered Practitioners/Doctors in the country, as reported by State/UT Boards/Councils, is 751,768. A state-wise breakdown is provided in Annexure 1. Maharashtra has the highest number of registered practitioners (178,162), followed by Uttar Pradesh (96,619) and Gujarat (60,998). Several UTs, including Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Ladakh, Lakshadweep and Puducherry, reported zero registered practitioners.
The Ministry of AYUSH supports the upgrading of professional competence through the central sector scheme "Ayurgyan," which provides funds for capacity building and Continuing Medical Education (CME) in AYUSH.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Ayush: The Indian government ministry responsible for developing and promoting AYUSH systems of medicine.
AYUSH: An acronym for Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy, which are alternative medicine systems practiced in India.
Maharashtra: A state in India where the number of AYUSH doctors practicing in rural and underserved areas is being assessed.
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, Maharashtra: A district in Maharashtra, India, specifically mentioned in the context of AYUSH doctor availability.
Dadra and Nagar Haveli: A union territory in India, mentioned in the context of AYUSH doctor availability.
Madhya Pradesh: A state in India where the number of AYUSH doctors practicing in rural and underserved areas is being assessed.
Ayurgyan: A Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Ayush, which provides funds for capacity building and Continuing Medical Education (CME) in AYUSH.
Andhra Pradesh: A state in India, that has a total of 6173 Ayush Registered Practitioners Doctors as on 01.01.2023
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF AYUSH
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 2128
TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.08.2025
“Shortage of AYUSH Doctors”
2128. Smt. Delkar Kalaben Mohanbhai:
Shri Gyaneshwar Patil:
Shri Bhumare Sandipanrao Asaram:
Dr. Shivaji Bandappa Kalge:
Shri Nilesh Dnyandev Lanke:
Dr. Rajesh Mishra:
Will the Minister of Ayush be pleased to state:
(a) whether there is shortage of AYUSH doctors in the country and if so, the details thereof,
State-wise along with the estimated shortage of doctors at present;
(b) the steps being taken by the Government to overcome the said shortage and to increase the
number of AYUSH doctors;
(c) the number of AYUSH doctors currently practising in the rural and underserved areas of
Maharashtra including Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Madhya
Pradesh;
(d) whether the Government proposes to introduce any measures to improve the training,
recruitment and retention of AYUSH doctors in future; and
(e) whether there is any plan to deploy AYUSH doctors in rural areas after equipping them with
training?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF AYUSH
(SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV)
(a) to (c): The primary responsibility to increase the number of Ayush doctors in the country
comes under the purview of respective State/UT Governments as Public Health is a State
subject. However, the total number of Ayush Registered Practitioners (Doctors) in the
country, State/UT-wise as on 01.01.2023, as reported by State/UT Boards/Councils is
furnished at Annexure.
1(d) & (e): As Public Health is a State subject, the primary responsibility to introduce
measures to improve training, recruitment, retention and deployment of Ayush doctors comes
under the purview of respective State/UT Governments. Ministry of Ayush supports the
objective of upgrading professional competence through a Central Sector Scheme namely
Ayurgyan wherein funds are provided for capacity building and Continuing Medical
Education (CME) in Ayush.
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2Annexure
State/ UT-wise total number of Ayush Registered Practitioners (Doctors) as on
01.01.2023
S.No. States/UTs Total
(1) (2) (3)
1 Andhra Pradesh 6173
2 Arunachal Pradesh 551
3 Assam 3377
4 Bihar 74223
5 Chhattisgarh 7496
6 Delhi 11863
7 Goa 1634
8 Gujarat 60998
9 Haryana 12595
10 Himachal Pradesh 7676
11 Jammu & Kashmir 5447
12 Jharkhand 1180
13 Karnataka 33374
14 Kerala 49014
15 Madhya Pradesh 45481
16 Maharashtra 178162
17 Manipur 0
18 Meghalaya 552
19 Mizoram 273
20 Nagaland 183
21 Odisha 15577
22 Punjab 16835
23 Rajasthan 22723
24 Sikkim 0
25 Tamil Nadu 19332
26 Telangana 23863
27 Tripura 796
28 Uttar Pradesh 96619
29 Uttarakhand 4526
30 West Bengal 51048
31 A&N Islands 0
32 Chandigarh 197
33 D&N Haveli and Daman & Diu 0
34 Ladakh 0
35 Lakshadweep 0
36 Puducherry 0
TOTAL 751768
Source: State/UT- Boards/Councils
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