RAS question
The Ministry of AYUSH was created as an independent ministry in which year?
Correct answer: (B) 2014.
The Ministry of AYUSH was created as an independent, full-fledged ministry on 9 November 2014.
Explanation
The Ministry of AYUSH became a full-fledged ministry on 9 November 2014, when the earlier Department of AYUSH under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare was upgraded. The PIB year-end review identifies this as the Ministry's first year of inception and says the upgrade was meant to step up education and research in Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy, while widening public reach for these systems. That is why 2014 is the precise answer: the institutional shift was not merely a programme launch or a departmental activity, but the creation of a separate ministry for AYUSH systems.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 2003 refers to the earlier Department of AYUSH, not the year in which AYUSH became an independent, full-fledged ministry.
- (C) 2019 is too late, because the PIB release places the upgrade to a full-fledged Ministry of AYUSH on 9 November 2014.
- (D) 2010 is not supported by Press Information Bureau, Government of India, which identifies 2014 as the ministry-formation year.
Concept
This tests the institutional evolution of India's traditional medicine administration under Science and Technology and health governance. It recurs in RAS because examiners often ask the year and status change behind major Union ministries and flagship sectors.