President calls for blending tradition with science in Ayurveda
President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday (July 15, 2026) inaugurated Saushrutam 2026, a three-day international seminar on Ayurvedic surgery, at the All India Institute of Ayurveda
President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday (July 15, 2026) inaugurated Saushrutam 2026, a three-day international seminar on Ayurvedic surgery, at the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), organised on Sushruta Jayanti and attended by surgeons, researchers, and policymakers from India and abroad. During the event, the President also inaugurated an AI-enabled 3 Tesla High-Field MRI facility at AIIA and released a Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) study on the professional careers of women Ayurveda graduates.
Addressing the gathering, Ms. Murmu said Acharya Sushruta’s contributions had laid the foundation for scientific surgical practice, and called for preserving biodiversity and ensuring the availability of medicinal plants to sustain Ayurveda’s growth. She urged greater participation of women in the Ayurveda workforce, calling for efforts to address the challenges they face in building long-term careers, and said integrating traditional knowledge with modern diagnostics and research was expanding the system’s global credibility.
Calls for research Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu described Ayurveda as one of India’s most enduring knowledge traditions and called for stronger research and international collaboration. Union Minister of State for Ayush, Prataprao Jadhav, said the seminar would advance excellence in Ayurvedic surgery under the government’s push for Ayurveda’s global recognition, while stressing the need for policy support to boost women’s participation in the field.
AIIA director P. K. Prajapati said the seminar would strengthen academic collaboration and clinical excellence in the discipline. The seminar has drawn experts from nine countries, including Thailand, Israel, Austria and the United Kingdom, for sessions on Shalya Tantra, Kshara Sutra, Agnikarma and integrative oncology.
The BriefWire