"My department MSME and Ayush have also signed an agreement to work jointly and I am quite optimistic that you will become history makers to help India march forward in this field and be a guiding light to the whole world," said Sarangi while addressing Assocham's 5th National Symposium on Nutraceuticals.
Nutraceutical is the hybrid of 'nutrition' and 'pharmaceutical'.
Nutraceuticals, in broad terms, are food or part of food playing a significant role in modifying and maintaining normal physiological function that maintains healthy human beings.
Advising the nutraceutical industry to develop their research wings, the Minister added, "We have to live in tune with nature, we have to adopt organic farming and we have to develop a food supplement so that nutritional level is high and diseases cannot thrive in our body. So long as immunity is strong, no outer germ can thrive in our body."
Calling allopathic treatment "costly" and "lengthy", he pitched for an "alternative method". He said nutraceuticals will not only cure but increase immunity.
The Minister added that only in microscopic cases, the need arises for surgical treatment and other medicinal approaches, while 90 per cent cases can be prevented by changing the lifestyle and food habits.
He said that it is a common belief that ayurvedic doctors are inferior to allopathic doctors who are more knowledgeable. This is not correct. "We need to change our mindsets", said Sarangi.
In his address, Dr D.S. Rana, chairman, Assocham National Council on Wellness and chairman of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said, "The nutraceutical industry should come together to ensure that nutrition reaches the last mile across rural India."
Dr Pushpa Vijayaraghavan, director, Sathguru Management Consultants said, "In line with ongoing improvements in the R&D practice of the value chain management, the nutraceutical industry promises substantial growth in the coming five years."
( With inputs from IANS )