Strategic Policy & Facilitation Bureau (SPFB)

Why in NEWS ?

• The Ayush ministry has collaborated with Invest India, which is a National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency that helps investors looking for investment opportunities and options in India, to create the unit called ‘Strategic Policy & Facilitation Bureau (SPFB)’.

About

• To facilitate planned and systematic growth of the Ayush sector, ministry of Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) plans to set up a strategic policy unit that will help it reach its full potential.
• Setting up of the SPFB is a forward-looking step which will make the Ayush systems future-ready.
• This bureau will support the ministry in strategic and policy-making initiatives that shall help pave the way to reach the full potential of the sector and stimulate growth and investment.
• At a time when the Covid-19 pandemic is leaving indelible imprints in the health- seeking behaviours of people around the world, such a strategy unit can be of immense support to the stake-holding groups of the Ayush sector.
• As a partner in the project, Invest India would collaborate extensively with Ayush ministry to frame the work plan of the bureau and define its short- and long-term targets.
• Invest India is expected to deploy highly trained and expert resources to implement and execute the ministry’s plans.
• According to the ministry, the activities that the unit will undertake include knowledge creation and management; strategic and policy-making support; undertaking state policy bench marking to formulate uniform guidelines, regulations regarding Ayush sector in India; investment facilitation and Memorandum of Understandings, and coordination among different department, organisations and states; and issue resolution by working with companies and other institutions across states and among various sub-sectors.

Strategic Policy & Facilitation Bureau (SPFB)

• This Bureau will support the Ministry in strategic and policy making initiatives that shall help pave the way to reach the full potential of the Sector and stimulate growth and investment.
• As a partner in the project, Invest India would collaborate extensively with the Ministry to frame the work plan of the Bureau and define its short-and long-term targets.
• The activities to be undertaken by the SPFB would include :

• Knowledge Creation and Management,
• Strategic & Policy-Making Support,
• State Policy Bench marking: Undertaking State Policy bench marking to formulate uniform guidelines/regulations regarding AYUSH sector in India,
• Investment Facilitation: Follow up and facilitation of investment cases and MoUs, and coordination among different Department, organisations and States.
• Issue Resolution: Invest India would work with companies and other institutions on issue resolution across States and among various sub- sectors.

• Some of the specific deliverables of the bureau would include project monitoring for inter-ministerial groups, skill development initiatives, setting up strategic intelligence research unit and initiating an innovation programme.
• Ayush ministry will be assisting the bureau in responding to investment proposals, issues and queries, and will also fund Invest India for undertaking assigned activities.
• The ministry will also support the bureau in building links with various stakeholders, such as industry associations, affiliate bodies of the ministry and industry representation.

AYUSH

• In 2014, the department of Ayush in the Union ministry of health and family welfare was converted into a full-fledged ministry, with Shripad Yesso Naik as the minister.
• The six years that followed have seen the potential of these being tapped on an unprecedented scale to address some of the long-standing challenges of public health in India.
• The picture that emerges from various studies and reports on the Ayush sector in this period indicates that the affordable and easily accessible solutions of Ayush systems are a boon to large sections of the society in their pursuit of maintaining satisfactory levels of health.
• The initiative is the latest in a series of steps taken by Ayush ministry that aim to promote the sector such as setting up the comprehensive information technology backbone called Ayush Grid for the entire sector, streamlining of Ayush education along modern lines, evolving global standards for Ayush systems for diagnostics and setting up a vertical for Ayush drugs control, to enable Ayush systems to move to the centre stage of health care activities.

What is National AYUSH Mission (NAM)?

• Department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India has launched National AYUSH Mission (NAM) during 12th Plan for implementing through States/UTs.
• The basic objective of NAM is to promote AYUSH medical systems through cost effective AYUSH services, strengthening of educational systems, facilitate the enforcement of quality control of ASU &H drugs and sustainable availability of ASU & H raw-materials.
• It envisages flexibility of implementation of the programmes which will lead to substantial participation of the State Governments/UT.
• The NAM contemplates establishment of a National Mission as well as corresponding Missions in the State level.

Invest India

• Invest India is India's National Investment Promotion & Facilitation Agency.
• Invest India, set up in 2009, is a non-profit venture under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.
• As the national investment promotion and facilitation agency, Invest India focuses on sector-specific investor targeting and development of new partnerships to enable sustainable investments in India.
• It partners with substantial investment promotion agencies and multilateral organizations and also actively works with several Indian states to build capacity as well as bring in global best practices in investment targeting, promotion and facilitation areas.
• In addition to a core team that focuses on sustainable investments, Invest India also partners with substantial investment promotion agencies and multilateral organizations.