WTO and Alternative Medicine System: The changing Paradigms of Indian Ayurvedic Industry

Abstract

Ayurveda is considered to be a distinct system of medicine and also a complete ancient Indian therapy that cures almost all of the physical and mental medical condition without causing any side effects and providing cure for most of the incurable diseases. Because of challenges posed by modern lifestyle and consequent increase in the cost of health maintenance under allopathic medicine system, the Ayurveda has become popular and this choice has been bolstered by the global consumer preference towards this great Indian system of medicine. Manufacturing in Ayurveda has passed from small-scale physician outlet to petty/cottage production and later to the industrial scale, emerging as a competing alternative to the biopharmaceutical market. The establishment of WTO and introduction of TRIPS Agreements in India heralded a new era for biomedicine firms as the worldwide research projected a massive entry of MNCs which would compete among themselves and with Indian generics to take hold of Indian Pharmaceutical market. This resultant structural change in the India Pharmaceutical System has also metamorphosed the functioning and development of new strategies by the manufactures of Ayurvedic products. The present paper analyzed the trends in various economic variables viz. Sales, Exports and R&D of India Ayurvedic Industry during the post WTO era. The study showed that Indian Ayurvedic manufacturing has become more vigorous in its approach and imbibing new methodologies to promote production & sales, devising new R&D matrix and thus giving a tough time to their biopharmaceutical counterparts.