Just what the vaid ordered
An ex-banker is exploiting the potential in ayurveda.
After stints as head of Motorola's paging systems division, MD of a technology park in Thiruvananthapuram and as a banker, Rajiv Vasudevan went on to set up a venture in ayurvedic treatment and healing services with Rs 20 lakh in 2005. He realised the potential in this system of traditional medicine, most of which has yet to be unlocked.
Vasudevan's formula: create awareness; gain credibility by getting certified by the NABH or National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers; rope in health insures; and bring back the Vaid, or the ayurvedic practitioner.
Result: the birth of the AyurVAID chain of hospitals in Kochi, Ernakulam and Aluva in Kerala followed by Bangalore and Hubli in Karnataka, and then Mumbai, in addition to an outpatient centre in Chennai.
Vasudevan is keen to dispel the notion that ayurveda is a systemic treatment like allopathy when, in fact, it is a holistic therapy and cannot be offered in bits and pieces. "My aim is to show the country and the world that ayurveda works as a very meaningful treatment," he says. And a great business opportunity, too.
 Rajiv Vasudevan Founder, AyurVAID Hospitals Vision: To provide patient-centric and accountable ayurvedic consultation and treatment Challenge: Achieving consistent quality in medicine preparation as medicinal herbs are not easily available |
Result: the birth of the AyurVAID chain of hospitals in Kochi, Ernakulam and Aluva in Kerala followed by Bangalore and Hubli in Karnataka, and then Mumbai, in addition to an outpatient centre in Chennai.
Vasudevan is keen to dispel the notion that ayurveda is a systemic treatment like allopathy when, in fact, it is a holistic therapy and cannot be offered in bits and pieces. "My aim is to show the country and the world that ayurveda works as a very meaningful treatment," he says. And a great business opportunity, too.
