In News:

Union Minister of State (IC) for Ayushlaunched the Ayush Anudan Portal at Kartavya Bhawan, New Delhi, a significant step towards strengthening digital governance and enhancing transparency in the Ayush sector. The portal is developed under the Ayush Grid initiative, the Ministry's overarching digital transformation framework.

What is the Ayush Anudan Portal?

The portal is developed by the Ministry of Ayush under the Ayush Grid initiative, marking a major milestone in streamlining the submission, processing, approval, and monitoring of funding proposals under various Central Sector Schemes of the Ministry.

The Central Sector Schemes covered under this portal include:

• Ayurgyan (research and innovation in Ayush systems)
• Ayurswasthya (health promotion through Ayush)
• Conservation, Development and Sustainable Management of Medicinal Plants
• International Co-operation
• Promotion of Information, Education and Communication (IEC)

The primary objective of this portal is to ensure 100% transparency, efficiency, accountability and easy accessibility in the grant management process.

Key Features

• Paperless Governance: The portal enables organisations and institutions to submit funding proposals entirely through an online process, eliminating dependency on manual and paper-based systems.
• Scheme-Wise Application Management: The platform categorises, processes, and monitors proposals according to the specific requirements of each Central Sector Scheme — ensuring targeted and structured grant disbursement.
• Real-Time Tracking: A real-time application tracking mechanism allows both applicants and officials to monitor proposal status at every stage of processing — bringing process visibility that was previously absent in grant administration.
• NGO Darpan Integration: Integration with the NGO Darpan Portal facilitates seamless authentication and verification of applicant organisations, making the validation process faster, automated, credible, and error-free. NGO Darpan, managed by NITI Aayog, is the central government's registry of civil society organisations.
• Single-Window Access: The portal is accessible through the My Ayush Integrated Services Portal (MAISP) — the Ministry's single-window digital platform — ensuring integration with the broader Ayush digital ecosystem.

Ayush Grid: The Broader Digital Framework

• Ayush Grid is a visionary digital initiative of the Government of India aimed at establishing an integrated, transparent, and citizen-centric digital ecosystem for the Ayush sector through modern technology.
• It is compliant with the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) architecture and has already produced digital platforms across education, research, healthcare services, medicinal plant administration, drug regulation, capacity building, and global outreach.
• The Anudan Portal represents the grant management pillar of this ecosystem — a critical component since much of Ayush sector R&D, institution-building, and medicinal plant conservation is funded through central grants to universities, hospitals, research bodies, and NGOs.

Significance

The launch reflects a broader policy shift in governance: moving from discretionary and opaque grant allocation toward rules-based, technology-mediated, and auditable fund flows. For the Ayush sector — which encompasses Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy — this is particularly significant given the sector's expanded role post-COVID and its growing international visibility through initiatives like the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) in Jamnagar, Gujarat