Ayurveda practitioners can practice 58 'specific' surgeries, says AYUSH Ministry

"The notification is specific to 58 specified surgical procedures and doesn't allow Shalya and Shalakya PGs to take up any other surgeries," said the AYUSH Ministry in an attempt to clarify regarding the provisions of the Indian Medicine Central Council (Post Graduate Ayurveda Education) Amendment Regulations 2020.

The Ministry, in a notification on Friday, had released amendments to the 2016 regulations to include permission for post-graduate students of Ayurveda to receive training and practice "shalya" and "shakalya". While shalya refers to general surgery, shakalya refers to diseases of the ear, nose, throat, head, eye and oro-dentistry.

The notification was condemned by the modern medicine fraternity across the country. In a letter on Saturday, the IMA called upon the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) to not engage with practices of Modern Medicine like surgery but rather develop their methods from its ancient texts. The IMA had earlier condemned the attempts of the ministry to permit AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy) doctors for offering allopathic treatments.