Hyderabad: Central Government had sought Telangana state government’s nod for setting up of the proposed World Health Organization (WHO) Global Centre for Traditional Medicines in Hyderabad. The Minister of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) Rajesh Kotecha wrote a letter to the Telangana Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar to find out the state’s readiness to provide infrastructure and other facilities for the proposed center.
Earlier, Union Minster of State G. Kishan Reddy and Karimnagar MP Sanjay Kumar wrote to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to set up the proposed center in Hyderabad. Reddy and Kumar, in their separate letters informed that there is enough land space in Indian Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (IDPL) premises and it is a good location for the center. Moreover, Hyderabad is well connected with other major cities of the country through the rail, road and air.
According to Kotecha, the proposed traditional medicine center shall require state support for global infrastructure, administrative and legal aid, requisite manpower, land for office and staff accommodations , security and ‘Ayush eco system’.
Hyderabad has knowledge based industries such as bio-tech, Pharmaceuticals, IT/ITES. The city is also a hub for life sciences multinational companies like the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) DuPont, Albani Molecular Research (AMRIU), Sofia BANU, Centre for Cellular and Molecular (CSIR) Aventis Pharma Ltd as well as some local companies like Dr. Reddys, Arubindo Pharma, Bharat Bio-tech etc.