Women Power Over Half of India's Organised Ayush Workforce

Women now hold the majority of jobs across India's formal traditional medicine sector, staffing 53 percent of hospital roles and over 60 percent of wellness resorts. Across the entire Ayush services industry, female professionals make up 43 percent of the 1.76 million livelihoods sustained by Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy.

The figures, published in a report by the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), reveal an industry expanding at 16.9 percent annually. The sector reached 36.92 billion dollars in FY2024-25, anchored by local standalone clinics that generate 43.9 percent of all revenues and sustain over one million community livelihoods.

Preventive wellness and cross-border demand are accelerating this shift toward structured employment. Yoga centres recorded 75 percent revenue growth over two years, while medical value travel generated 1.77 billion dollars. Foreign patients account for just five percent of patient volumes but deliver up to a quarter of hospital revenue through multi-day therapeutic stays.

Policy planners project the Ayush services sector could reach 318 billion dollars by 2047. For healthcare operators and investors, formalising neighbourhood clinics into accredited centres and wellness resorts provides a direct pathway to capture surging preventative health demand while creating skilled, female-led employment.