The Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA) is an institution of national importance for Ayurveda education and research, located in Jamnagar, Gujarat, India. It was established in 2020 by an Act of the Indian Parliament, the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Act, 2020, which conferred on it the status of an Institution of National Importance — the first such status accorded to any institution in the field of Ayurveda.
Key facts
| Type | Institution of National Importance |
|---|---|
| Established | 2020 (by Act of Parliament) |
| Location | Jamnagar, Gujarat, India |
| Field | Ayurveda — teaching, research and clinical services |
| Predecessor body | Institute for Post Graduate Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (IPGT&RA), constituent of Gujarat Ayurved University |
| Statute | Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Act, 2020 |
| Parent ministry | Ministry of Ayush, Government of India |
Background
Jamnagar has been a long-standing centre for advanced studies in Ayurveda. The Gulabkunverba Ayurvedic Society, founded in 1944, evolved into the Shree Gulabkunverba Ayurvedic Mahavidyalaya. Postgraduate teaching in Ayurveda began in Jamnagar in 1956, when the Government of India established the Postgraduate Training Centre, later reorganised as the Institute for Post Graduate Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (IPGT&RA). In 1967, Gujarat Ayurved University was set up at Jamnagar, with the IPGT&RA functioning as its principal teaching and research wing.
Establishment as ITRA
The Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Act was passed by Parliament and received presidential assent in 2020. The Act amalgamated the IPGT&RA, Shree Gulabkunverba Ayurved Mahavidyalaya, the Indian Institute of Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Sciences, and the Maharshi Patanjali Institute of Yoga Naturopathy Education and Research, all situated on the Jamnagar campus, into a single body designated as ITRA. The institute was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 13 November 2020, on the occasion of the fifth Ayurveda Day, in the presence of the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Functions and structure
As an Institution of National Importance, ITRA is empowered to grant degrees, diplomas and other academic distinctions in Ayurveda and allied disciplines on its own. The institute conducts undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes, and runs specialised departments covering classical Ayurvedic disciplines such as Kayachikitsa, Shalya, Shalakya, Panchakarma, Dravyaguna, Rasashastra and Bhaishajya Kalpana, Rognidan, Samhita and Siddhanta, alongside Yoga and Naturopathy. It maintains a teaching hospital, pharmacy, herbal garden and research laboratories.
Significance
ITRA is the first Ayurveda institution in India to be granted the status of an Institution of National Importance, placing it in the same statutory category as the Indian Institutes of Technology and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. The recognition is intended to enable autonomous standard-setting in Ayurveda education, support international collaboration, and strengthen evidence-based research on traditional Indian medicine. Jamnagar is also home to the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine, announced in 2020 and located near the ITRA campus.
Related topics
- Ayurveda
- Ministry of Ayush
- Gujarat Ayurved University
- National Institute of Ayurveda
- All India Institute of Ayurveda
- Institutions of National Importance
- Jamnagar
References
- The Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Act, 2020, Government of India.
- Ministry of Ayush, Government of India — official communications on ITRA.
- Wikidata entity Q2732120.