Udupi Dec 16: S.K. Sharma, Adviser, Department of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH), New Delhi, has said that the Government will provide a loan of Rs. 2 crore to private Ayurveda colleges, which intend to upgrade their infrastructure.

He was speaking at a conference on Shalya, Shalakya and Prasooti Tantra at “Soushruthi 2007”, organised by the SDM College of Ayurveda, as part of its golden jubilee celebrations, here on Friday.

Mr. Sharma said the only condition for the loan was that the institution should put in an equal amount. The repayment period for the loan is five years.

He said that the department had chosen SDM college under its quality improvement programme. Under this programme, the college would be given Rs. 5 crore with which it could upgrade its facilities. The money would be provided during the 11th Plan period. Mr. Sharma said the Government would start an All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), on the lines of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi, at a cost of Rs. 250 crore. The land for the proposed AIIA had been purchased and construction would start shortly, Mr. Sharma said.

Jayaprakash Narayan, vice-president of Central Council for Indian Medicines (CCIM), New Delhi, released a souvenir. S.S. Badrinath, founder of Shankar Netralaya, Chennai, inaugurated the Sri Dharmastala Mathrushri Ratnamma Memorial Golden Jubilee Building. MLC V.S. Acharya inaugurated the Bhava Prakasha Auditorium.

Vice-Chancellor of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) P.S. Prabhakaran inaugurated the three-day conference. Vice-president of SDM Education Society S. Prabhakar inaugurated the golden jubilee celebrations of the college.

Hindu