Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is an Indian government ministry charged with health policy in India. It is also responsible for all government programs relating to family planning in India.
The Minister of Health and Family Welfare holds cabinet rank as a member of the Council of Ministers. The current minister is Harsh Vardhan.
Since 1955 the Ministry regularly publishes the Indian Pharmacopoeia through the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC), an autonomous body for setting standards for drugs, pharmaceuticals and healthcare devices and technologies in India.
Composition.
The ministry is composed of two departments: Department of Health and Family Welfare and the Department of Health Research.
Department of Health.
The Department of Health deals with health care, including awareness campaigns, immunisation campaigns, preventive medicine, and public health. Bodies under the administrative control of this department are:
Department of Family Welfare.
The Department of Family Welfare (FW) is responsible for aspects relating to family welfare, especially in reproductive health, maternal health, pediatrics, information, education and communications; cooperation with NGOs and international aid groups; and rural health services. The Department of Family Welfare is responsible for:
Department of Health Research.
The Department of Health Research (DHR) was created in 2007 and became functional the following year.
Department of AYUSH.
The Department of AYUSH no more falls under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, it was elevated to the Ministry of AYUSH with effect 9 November 2014.
The Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) deals with ayurveda (Indian traditional medicine), yoga, naturopathy, unani, siddha, and homoeopathy, and other alternative medicine systems. Now 'Sowa-Rigpa' (the Tibetian medicine system) has also been added to AYUSH
The department was established in March 1995 as the Department of Indian Systems of Medicines and Homoeopathy (ISM&H). The department is charged with upholding educational standards in the Indian Systems of Medicines and Homoeopathy colleges, strengthening research, promoting the cultivation of medicinal plants used, and working on pharmacopoeia standards. Bodies under the control of the Department of AYUSH are: