The Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA) in Jamnagar has signed a five-year agreement with the Heartfulness Institute (HFI) at Kanha Shanti Vanam in Hyderabad to advance preventive and holistic healthcare. The pact brings together Ayurveda education and research on one side and yoga, meditation and ecological practices on the other. It was signed in August 2026 and was highlighted on 8 September 2026 during a stakeholders meeting at Kanha Shanti Vanam.
What Does the Five-Year MoU Cover?
The Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA) and the Heartfulness Institute (HFI) have agreed to work together for five years to promote preventive and holistic healthcare. The agreement creates a common framework that links Ayurveda with yoga, meditation, lifestyle practices and ecological initiatives. The aim is to build integrative wellness models that focus on preventing disease and not only on treating illness after it appears.
The agreement was signed in August 2026 by Prof. Tanuja Nesari, Director of ITRA, and Kumar Kannan of the Heartfulness Institute. The collaboration was presented on 8 September 2026 during the Stakeholders Consultative Meeting at Kanha Shanti Vanam near Hyderabad. The meeting was attended by Prataprao Jadhav, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH, Kamlesh D. Patel, guide of Heartfulness, M. Srinivas, Member for Health at NITI Aayog, and Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary of the Ministry of AYUSH. Senior officials from NITI Aayog and more than 30 states and union territories were also present.
The two institutions will combine their core strengths. ITRA brings experience in Ayurvedic teaching, clinical care and research. HFI brings experience in Heartfulness meditation, yoga, wellness training and large scale green campus practices. The table below shows how the roles fit together.
| Institution | Location | Core Strength Under the MoU |
|---|---|---|
| Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA) | Jamnagar, Gujarat | Ayurveda education, clinical practice and research |
| Heartfulness Institute (HFI) | Kanha Shanti Vanam, Hyderabad, Telangana | Meditation, yoga, lifestyle practices and ecological initiatives |
The main areas of cooperation are national and international collaborative research, student and faculty exchange, joint academic programmes, knowledge sharing, capacity building, innovation and intellectual property development. The partners will also support joint work on disease prevention and integrative wellness. Integrative wellness here means combining traditional practices such as Ayurveda, yoga and meditation with modern research methods to protect health and reduce the burden of lifestyle disorders.
What Is ITRA Jamnagar?
The Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA) in Jamnagar, Gujarat, is a central government institute under the Ministry of AYUSH. Parliament declared it an Institute of National Importance through the ITRA Act, 2020. It offers undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes in Ayurveda along with clinical care and research.
ITRA is the first institute in the AYUSH sector to receive the status of an Institute of National Importance. This is the same category of recognition given to leading central technical and management institutes. The status allows ITRA to set its own academic standards, design courses of national and international level and award its own degrees.
The institute was created by bringing together three older Ayurveda institutions in Jamnagar. These were the Institute of Post Graduate Teaching and Research in Ayurveda, Shree Gulabkunverba Ayurved Mahavidyalaya and the Indian Institute of Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Sciences. The Maharshi Patanjali Institute for Yoga and Naturopathy Education and Research was also joined to ITRA as part of its Swasthavritta department. Swasthavritta is the branch of Ayurveda that deals with personal and public health, daily routine and seasonal routine.
Jamnagar has a long connection with Ayurveda education. The Shri Gulabkunverba Ayurvedic Society was set up in 1940 under the support of the former princely state of Nawanagar. The society built the Dhanwantari Mandir building in 1944 and started Shree Gulabkunverba Ayurved Mahavidyalaya in 1946. After Independence, the central government set up the Central Institute for Research in Indigenous Systems of Medicine at Jamnagar in 1952 and a postgraduate training centre in 1956. These centres later became part of Gujarat Ayurved University, which was established in 1967. Parliament passed the ITRA Act in 2020 and its provisions came into force on 15 October 2020.
ITRA runs a hospital with about 300 beds and has 14 departments with specialty outpatient units and research laboratories. The World Health Organization has recognised the Jamnagar campus as a Collaborative Centre for Traditional Medicines in Ayurveda. It is the only centre in the world with this specific recognition for Ayurveda, which adds weight to joint research planned under the new agreement.
What Is the Heartfulness Institute?
The Heartfulness Institute is a non-profit organisation linked to the wider Heartfulness movement. Its world headquarters is Kanha Shanti Vanam, located in Chegur village in Ranga Reddy district near Hyderabad in Telangana. The centre is spread over more than 1,200 acres and has been developed as a green campus with lakhs of planted trees, water conservation work and facilities for meditation, yoga and wellness training.
Heartfulness meditation is a heart based practice drawn from the Sahaj Marg system of Raja Yoga. Raja Yoga is one of the classical paths of yoga that focuses on meditation and mental discipline. The Shri Ram Chandra Mission, which teaches this system, was registered in 1945 by Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur, who is known as Babuji. The present guide of the movement is Kamlesh D. Patel, who is known as Daaji. He became president of the mission in 2014 and was honoured with the Padma Bhushan for his work in spirituality.
The basic Heartfulness practice has four parts. These are relaxation, meditation on the heart, cleaning of mental impressions and inner connection through prayer. Trainers offer the practice free of charge through centres, apps and outreach programmes in schools, colleges, companies and government bodies. The institute says it is active in more than 160 countries.
Kanha Shanti Vanam matters to this agreement for two reasons. First, it provides ready infrastructure for joint training, retreats and academic exchange. Second, it offers a working model of ecological practice. The campus was earlier dry and barren land and was later turned green through systematic plantation and water work. ITRA plans to draw on this experience for biodiversity and sustainable development on its own campus at Jamnagar.
What Is AYUSH?
AYUSH is the short form for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy. It is also the name of the central Ministry of AYUSH, created on 9 November 2014 to promote education, research and healthcare in these traditional systems. AYUSH treatment means care given under any of these systems.
The Ministry of AYUSH was formed by upgrading the earlier Department of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy. The department was first set up in 1995 under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and was renamed as the Department of AYUSH in 2003. The ministry now handles policy, education standards, research support, drug quality control and international cooperation for traditional medicine. The current Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH is Prataprao Jadhav and the Secretary is Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha.
Ayurveda is the oldest and most widely practised system under the ministry. The word Ayurveda means the science of life. It views health as balance among the three doshas, which are Vata, Pitta and Kapha, along with balanced digestion, tissues, waste removal and a calm mind. Ayurveda gives high importance to prevention through daily routine, seasonal routine, diet, yoga and ethical conduct. Daily routine is called Dinacharya and seasonal routine is called Ritucharya. Preventive healthcare means action taken to stop disease before it starts, and holistic healthcare means care of the body, mind and surroundings together. This agreement uses both ideas by linking Ayurvedic prevention with meditation and yoga for mental well-being.
Is ITRA Jamnagar Government or Private?
ITRA Jamnagar is a fully government institute. Parliament created ITRA by law as a central autonomous body under the Ministry of AYUSH and declared it an Institute of National Importance. The central government funds the institute and its degrees and research programmes carry national recognition.
Why Does This Partnership Matter for Preventive Healthcare?
India faces a heavy load of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stress linked disorders and mental health problems. These conditions are costly to treat and often need lifelong care. Prevention through diet, physical activity, stress control and early lifestyle correction is cheaper and more lasting. The pact directly targets this gap.
Ayurveda already has a clear prevention framework. It starts with protecting the health of a healthy person, a principle stated as Swasthasya Swasthya Rakshanam. It uses daily routine, seasonal routine, suitable diet, sleep discipline, exercise and rejuvenation therapy. Heartfulness adds simple, standardised tools for relaxation, meditation and mental detox that can be taught to large groups at low cost. When these two streams are combined in one protocol, doctors get both a physical and a mental health routine to prescribe together.
The academic design is also important. ITRA students will learn Heartfulness relaxation, yoga and meditation methods as part of clinical training. Heartfulness trainers will learn basic Ayurveda principles, diagnosis concepts and therapeutic approaches. Joint certificate courses and value added programmes will help both sides speak a common language of integrative care. Faculty and student exchange will keep this learning continuous over the five-year period.
Research is the third gain. Joint teams can study whether combined Ayurveda, yoga and meditation routines lower stress markers, improve sleep, control early metabolic risks and support recovery. Such evidence is essential for wider acceptance of traditional practices in public health. The focus on innovation and intellectual property shows that both sides also plan to develop new courses, manuals, wellness protocols and research tools and protect them properly.
How the Pact Supports the Wider AYUSH Ecosystem
The agreement fits the stated goals of the Ministry of AYUSH to build evidence based research, quality education, preventive care and global promotion of Ayurveda. It was showcased during a national level stakeholders meeting linked to a NITI Aayog workshop on strengthening the AYUSH ecosystem. This setting shows that the ministry sees such partnerships as models for people centred care.
Global reach is a clear target. The Heartfulness network runs centres, retreats and online courses in many countries. Joint workshops, international conferences, wellness retreats and online modules can introduce foreign students and practitioners to authentic Ayurveda along with yoga and meditation. This supports exports of knowledge services and improves acceptance of traditional Indian systems abroad.
Ecological practice is the other pillar. Kanha Shanti Vanam uses plantation, water harvesting and sustainable campus design as part of wellness. ITRA will apply similar ideas for a greener and more biodiverse campus at Jamnagar in Gujarat. A clean and green healing environment supports recovery and also teaches students that health and environment are linked.
Over the next five years, success will depend on three tests. First, whether joint research produces published data on prevention and integrative care. Second, whether student and faculty exchange creates regular courses and not only one time events. Third, whether wellness protocols developed in Jamnagar and Hyderabad reach hospitals, colleges and community programmes in other states.
Key Takeaways
- ITRA Jamnagar signed a five-year MoU in August 2026 with the Heartfulness Institute at Kanha Shanti Vanam, Hyderabad for preventive and holistic healthcare.
- ITRA is the first AYUSH sector Institute of National Importance, created under the ITRA Act, 2020, with provisions in force from 15 October 2020.
- The pact links Ayurveda, yoga, meditation and ecological practices and covers joint research, student and faculty exchange, academic programmes and intellectual property.
- Kanha Shanti Vanam in Ranga Reddy district, Telangana, is the world headquarters of Heartfulness and spreads over more than 1,200 acres as a green campus model.
- Heartfulness meditation comes from the Sahaj Marg system of Raja Yoga, taught through the Shri Ram Chandra Mission founded in 1945, and now guided by Kamlesh D. Patel.
- The collaboration was highlighted on 8 September 2026 in the presence of AYUSH Minister Prataprao Jadhav, NITI Aayog Member M. Srinivas and AYUSH Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha.
