The Ministry of AYUSH was formed as a separate ministry on:

The Ministry of AYUSH was formed on 9 November 2014 to ensure the optimal development and propagation of traditional and alternative systems of health care in India.

Meaning of AYUSH:

• AYUSH stands for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy.
• Sowa-Rigpa, the traditional Tibetan system of medicine, was later also included.

History:

• In March 1995, the Department of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy (ISM&H) was created under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• In November 2003, it was renamed the Department of AYUSH.
• In November 2014, it was made a separate Ministry.

Functions of the Ministry:

• Developing education, research and standards in AYUSH systems.
• Regulating AYUSH medicines and practitioners.
• Promoting AYUSH systems in India and abroad.
• Integrating AYUSH with the mainstream health care system.

Important bodies and initiatives:

• The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine and the National Commission for Homoeopathy regulate education and practice.
• The All India Institute of Ayurveda was set up in New Delhi.
• The National AYUSH Mission supports AYUSH services in states.
• The WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine was set up at Jamnagar, Gujarat, in 2022.

International Day of Yoga:

• On India's initiative, the United Nations General Assembly declared 21 June as the International Day of Yoga in December 2014.
• The first International Day of Yoga was celebrated on 21 June 2015.

National Ayurveda Day:

It is celebrated on Dhanvantari Jayanti (Dhanteras) every year.

Unani Day:

It is celebrated on 11 February, the birthday of Hakim Ajmal Khan.

Other dates:

• 1 January 2015 is when NITI Aayog was set up.
• 2 October 2014 is when the Swachh Bharat Mission was launched.

Why not the other options?

• ✗1 January 2015, 21 June 2015 and 2 October 2014 are linked to NITI Aayog, the first International Day of Yoga and the Swachh Bharat Mission, respectively.