The Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA) declared September 7 as the first World Indigenous Knowledge Day. This was done to highlight the importance of indigenous knowledge and traditions in approaches to sustainable development. Dr. SK Nanda chaired the AMA committee for Indigenous Knowledge Mission and announced September 7 as World Indigenous Day. The goal is to document indigenous knowledge through an online portal and encourage knowledge sharing. Panelists at the event emphasized the role of indigenous knowledge in healthcare, with around 8,000 of India's 10,000 plant species used by tribes and only 2,500 in Indian medicine systems. Indigenous knowledge was said to offer low-cost, simple solutions for health and quality of life compared to medical complications and insurance costs.

1. Press Release
AMA builds opinion; declares September 7 as World
Indigenous Knowledge Day
Ahmedabad, September 8, 2015: The Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA),
declared September 7 as the “World Indigenous Knowledge Day” for the first time as
an ode to the power of indigenous knowledge, drawing inspiration from the countries
age-old tried and tested traditions, commemorate location-specific knowledge and skills
and the felt need to utilize the principles laid down by our forefathers in the modern day
for sustainable living has assumed significance.

2. The prime objective behind this was to highlight the growing interest and the role that
indigenous knowledge can play in true participatory approaches to sustainable
development.
Dr SK Nanda (Additional Chief Secretary and CMD of GSFC Ltd) chaired the AMA
committee for Indigenous Knowledge Mission and declared September 7th as the World
Indigenous Day in a panel discussion held at AMA Ahmedabad. He said “modern science
needs proof for a particular product/ practice and then goes for its successful
adaptation whereas indigenous knowledge has the age-old success stories and there’s a
great need to test it using tools of modern science. We want to create an interactive
blog/ portal for documentation where people and knowledge holders would share their
expertise and interest and exchange ideas.” He further says that the purpose is to make
cost of health cheap easy and quality of life simple and disease free Complications of
medical type and insurance costs are not the ideal parameters and so it is always better
to go for diachronistic than synchronistic solutions to problems of health Agriculture
food and nutrition that indigenous knowledge can handle more suitably
PadmaShree awardee Dr. P. Puspangandan former Director National Botanical Research
Institutue (NBRI), Center for Indian Medicinal Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) and the present
Director General, Amity Institute for Herbal and Biotech Products Development was the
special guest at the event. He focused his views on current status of medicinal plants
used by the tribesmen in India. During his presentation he said, “Around 8000 plants
species out of total 10000 found in India are being used by the tribal communities.
Interestingly merely 2500 species are currently used by the Indian Medicine System.”
Another panelist, Dr. Harinath Jha (Senior Ayurvedic Expert and President of Ayurved
Medical Society of India) said in his speech the history of customs and rituals involved in
Hinduism and correlated it with science. He also shared some popular idioms used
earlier to propagate indigenous knowledge.
Manish Singh, Director, Abhumka Herbal Pvt Ltd, said during the Panel Discussion said
that the proper dissemination and acceptance of age-old traditional indigenous
knowledge is need of the hour. He said “What oil is to gulf, indigenous knowledge can

3. be for Indian economy.” Mr Singh, later pledge the audience to
consider this day as a beginning of a mission.
The panelists urged all the participants and attendees to get involved in accepting
indigenous knowledge at large for their day to day healthcare needs. There will be series
of events for the propagation of indigenous knowledge taking place under the banner of
Swadesh Gyan Abhiyan.