{"id":64819,"date":"2026-02-19T16:55:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T11:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/iamf-calls-for-central-statutory-regulation-for-yoga-terms-it-essential-for-academic-justice-and-public-health-clarity\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T16:55:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T11:25:16","slug":"iamf-calls-for-central-statutory-regulation-for-yoga-terms-it-essential-for-academic-justice-and-public-health-clarity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/iamf-calls-for-central-statutory-regulation-for-yoga-terms-it-essential-for-academic-justice-and-public-health-clarity\/","title":{"rendered":"IAMF Calls for Central Statutory Regulation for Yoga &amp; Naturopathy (BNYS); Terms It Essential for Academic Justice and Public Health Clarity"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-12 col-xl-12 \">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-sm-7 col-lg-7\"><em><label class=\"label-view\"><b>Dr. Aravind Lakshminarayanan, National President Indian AYUSH Medical Federation (IAMF)<\/b><\/label><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-12 col-xl-12 \">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-sm-3 col-lg-3 text-dot-right pr-sm-0\">\n<p><span data-sheets-root=\"1\"><strong>New Delhi [India], February 19:<\/strong> <\/span>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/iamf_official\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Indian AYUSH Medical Federation (IAMF)<\/a>\u00a0has formally urged the Government of India to establish a Central statutory regulatory framework for Yoga &amp; Naturopathy (BNYS), stating that the issue concerns academic justice, professional clarity, and public healthcare accountability.<\/p>\n<p>The representation was issued by Dr. Aravind Lakshminarayanan, National President of the Indian AYUSH Medical Federation, following growing concern among BNYS students and practitioners across multiple states regarding the absence of a dedicated national regulatory authority for the discipline.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A Visible Regulatory Gap<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In 2020, India restructured AYUSH governance through the establishment of:<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) governing Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Sowa-Rigpa<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf The National Commission for Homoeopathy (NCH)<\/p>\n<p>However, Yoga &amp; Naturopathy were not included under an equivalent statutory commission.<\/p>\n<p>While certification and institutional mechanisms currently exist, there is no comprehensive central statutory authority regulating Yoga &amp; Naturopathy education, registration, and professional standards uniformly across India.<\/p>\n<p>According to IAMF, this has resulted in administrative inconsistency and varying recognition across states.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Drugless Does Not Mean Unregulated<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>BNYS is a 5\u00bd-year medical education program including internship and clinical exposure. The curriculum includes: Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, Diagnosis, Clinical training, Preventive and lifestyle medicine, Yogic therapy and naturopathy modalities<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese professionals are trained to address preventive healthcare, rehabilitation, and lifestyle disorders \u2014 areas of increasing national importance,\u201d said Dr. Aravind Lakshminarayanan.<\/p>\n<p>He further stated:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDrugless therapy does not mean regulation-less therapy. Any healthcare discipline dealing with human health must function within a clear legal and professional framework.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Student Concerns Emerging Nationwide<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Discussions among students and practitioners across several states indicate increasing concern regarding:<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Lack of uniform central registration<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Differences in recognition between states<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Professional identity ambiguity<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Long-term career clarity<\/p>\n<p>IAMF clarified that the issue is not a conflict between medical systems but a structural regulatory gap.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is not a comparison with any other medical system. The request is simply for clarity within Yoga &amp; Naturopathy itself,\u201d the federation noted.<\/p>\n<p><strong>IAMF Recommendations to Government of India<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Federation has proposed two policy pathways:<\/p>\n<p>1. Establish a Separate National Commission \/ Central Council for Yoga &amp; Naturopathy<\/p>\n<p>OR<\/p>\n<p>2. Create a statutory Board under a Central Act empowered to regulate:<\/p>\n<p>\u25cb Education standards<\/p>\n<p>\u25cb Curriculum uniformity<\/p>\n<p>\u25cb Central practitioner registration<\/p>\n<p>\u25cb Institutional recognition<\/p>\n<p>\u25cb Ethical and disciplinary mechanisms<\/p>\n<p>\u25cb National professional identity<\/p>\n<p><strong>Public Health Significance<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>IAMF emphasised that Yoga &amp; Naturopathy play a major role in:<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Preventive healthcare<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Lifestyle disease management<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Non-communicable disease control<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Integrative healthcare models<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith lifestyle disorders rising rapidly, strengthening preventive healthcare capacity is a national priority,\u201d the federation stated.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A Constructive Representation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>IAMF clarified that the appeal is constructive and solution-oriented.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIndia has taken historic steps to promote AYUSH globally. This representation seeks completion of that vision through statutory clarity for Yoga &amp; Naturopathy,\u201d said Dr. Aravind Lakshminarayanan.<\/p>\n<p><strong>National Implications<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The federation cautioned that absence of regulatory clarity may lead to:<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Reduced student admissions<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Public confusion regarding professional status<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Administrative inconsistencies<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Underutilisation of preventive healthcare workforce<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Indian AYUSH Medical Federation reiterated that its request is based on:<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Academic justice<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Professional dignity<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Patient safety<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Regulatory clarity<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Strengthening preventive healthcare<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRecognition brings responsibility. Regulation protects the public,\u201d the statement concluded.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Issued by:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Indian AYUSH Medical Federation (IAMF)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/yoga_aravind\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Dr. Aravind Lakshminarayanan<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>National President<\/p>\n<p><em>If you object to the content of this press release, please notify us at pr.error.rectification@gmail.com. We will respond and rectify the situation within 24 hours.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dr. Aravind Lakshminarayanan, National President Indian AYUSH Medical Federation (IAMF) New Delhi [India], February 19: The\u00a0Indian AYUSH Medical Federation (IAMF)\u00a0has formally urged the Government of India to establish a Central [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":64820,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_rishi_post_view_count":29},"categories":[5],"tags":[677],"class_list":["post-64819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","tag-national","rishi-post"],"rishi__cb_customizer_meta":"","comments_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}