Centre to set up separate research council for Siddha systems of medicine

The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry is planning to set up a separate research council for the Siddha System of Medicine bifurcating the existing Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha (CCRAS), the autonomous body under the Department of Ayush.

The proposal to set up the new council is being actively considered and it will be established in six month's time, according to a higher official from the Department of Ayush. The move aims to expand the research and development activities on Siddha medicine, a form of medical treatment of diseases using substances of all possible origins in a way that balances the possible harmful effect of each substance. The system is vastly prevailing in South India.

At present, the CCRAS is the apex body in India for the formulation, co-ordination, development and promotion of research on scientific lines in Ayurveda and Siddha systems of medicine. By setting up a separate council, the current research projects under the Siddha system of medicine will get a boost and more projects could be taken for research by replicating the working system in CCRAS, said the official.

The medicinal preparations under Siddha system are made primarily from the parts of the plants and trees such as leaves, bark, stem, root etc, but also from mineral and animal substances. According to reports from Department of Ayush, there are 2586 beds available for Siddha treatment in a total of 276 hospitals set up for the same and there are around 529 dispensaries with Siddha system of treatment available in the country, including the public and private healthcare establishments, till 2008. These healthcare centres are situated in five South Indian states, Karnataka, Kerala, Andaman & Nikobar Islands, Puducherry though a majority of the centres are in Tamil Nadu.

The use of metals like gold, silver and iron powders (Sanskrit bhasma) in some preparations, a special feature of Siddha medicine, has created confusion among the overseas regulators about the heavy metal content of such medicines, while the Siddha experts claims it can detoxify metals to enable them to be used for stubborn diseases.

The department, earlier in 1998, has also set up a National Institute of Siddha (NIS), at Chennai, with an aim to promote education, research and medical care through the particular system of medicine and to promote and propagate the science and technique of Siddha.