NEW DELHI: About 95% of Indians aged 15 and above are aware of Ayush system of treatment, and on average, a
rural Indian
spends Rs 472 on alternative medicine in a year compared to their urban counterpart's Rs 574, according to an
NSSO survey
.
National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) conducted the survey from July 2022 to June 2023 to collect information on awareness about the
traditional healthcare systems
from about 1.8 lakh households - 1 lakh in rural areas and 77,103 in urban areas.
Researchers found about 95% of men and women aged 15 years and above were aware of Ayush (ayurveda, yoga, naturopathy, unani, siddha and homoeopathy) in rural areas in comparison to 96% in urban areas.
However, urban areas surpassed rural areas in terms of trust in Ayush for the prevention or treatment of ailments, with Himachal Pradesh ranking first among states and Goa at the bottom.
The survey also revealed that ayurveda is the preferred traditional medicine system in both rural and urban India, primarily used for rejuvenation or preventive purposes, followed by therapeutic use.
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