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Rabinarayan Acharya

Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Science, Gujarat Ayurved University, Utkal University, Government Ayurved College, Board of Secondary Education

ORCID iD 0000-0003-4413-1937
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About

Prof. (Vd.) Rabinarayan Acharya is an award-winning Ayurvedic physician-scientist and academic leader, honoured with the AYUSH Award of CCRAS 2017 for Best Teacher (Drug Research & Teaching in Ayurveda) and Best Research Paper (Literary Research) by the Ministry of Ayush, Government of India. He currently serves as Director General, Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), Ministry of Ayush, and Prof. of Dravyaguna at the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA), Jamnagar (on deputation).
His qualifications include D.Sc. (Ayurveda, Dravyaguna) from Utkal University, the first D.Sc. in Ayurveda Dravyaguna conferred in India, Ph.D. and M.D. (Dravyaguna) from Gujarat Ayurved University, a PG Diploma in Bioethics, B.A.M.S. (Hons.) and B.Sc. (Hons., Botany). His Google Scholar profile (April 2026) records over 550 peer‑reviewed publications, more than 3,400 citations and an h‑index of 28; he has supervised 107 MD/PhD/MPharm/MSc theses, led 11 externally funded projects (DST‑SERB, DBT, NMPB, Ayush, UNDP, IPGTRA‑IMR) and holds a granted patent in pharmacovigilance informatics (e‑PV Card). Over three decades, Prof. Acharya has worked at the interface of classical Ayurveda and modern science in pharmacognosy, phytochemistry, pharmacology, drug standardisation, pharmacovigilance and public‑health research. He has contributed to pharmacopeial standards and ethnopharmacological validation for more than 42 extra‑pharmacopoeial (“Anukta”) drugs (around 100 botanicals) and systematically studied Shodhana (detoxification) procedures for Schedule E1 poisonous substances in the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia. He is the Chief Editor of the Journal of Drug Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (JDRAS), Journal of Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (JRAS), and Journal of Indian Medical Heritage (JIMH), and serves on editorial/reviewer panels of several leading journals in Ayurveda, pharmacognosy, and ethnopharmacology.
As Director General of CCRAS since February 2022, he leads a 30‑institute national network with over 2,000 staff. During his tenure, the annual budget has grown from Rs. 298.37 crore to Rs. 526.34 crore (76.4% increase), with fund utilisation improving from 88.6% to 100% for two consecutive years, and own‑receipts rising from Rs. 63 lakh to Rs. 511 lakh (CAGR 68.86%). He has established the first CCRAS CSR policy (mobilising Rs. 2.51 crore) and steered a Rs. 2,820.12 crore Umbrella‑Scheme infrastructure proposal covering 24 institutes. The research portfolio now maintains 316 active projects (212 intra‑mural, 104 collaborative) across seven streams, underpinned by 312 MoUs with AIIMS, IITs, IISc, CSIR, ICMR, DBT, ICAR and universities, and CCRAS public‑health programmes have cumulatively reached about 28.43 lakh beneficiaries nationwide (including Mission Utkarsh on anaemia and EMRS school screening). Quality assurance and ethics have been central to his leadership. Starting from a near‑zero base in 2022, CCRAS today has 21 NABH‑recognised units (14 full, 7 entry‑level), 21 NABL‑accredited laboratories and 18 BIS‑QMS‑certified institutes, along with FSSAI‑registered hospitals, five GMP pharmacies (one progressing toward WHO‑GMP), three drug‑testing laboratories and 21 DHR‑EC‑certified centres; the Central Ethics Committee has undergone FERCAP audit in line with international GCP standards. The herbarium network has expanded from 5 to 15 New York Botanical Garden–indexed herbaria, maintaining about 1,000 medicinal plant species; digital heritage platforms such as AMAR (18,000 manuscripts) and CCRAS‑DRAVYA (over 11,200 plant records) have been significantly strengthened, alongside QR‑coded herbal gardens and other informatics tools. Prof. Acharya has long engaged with WHO and global traditional‑medicine norms. CCRAS‑NIIMH, Hyderabad, was designated a WHO Collaborating Centre for Fundamental and Literary Research in Traditional Medicine in June 2024, and five further WHO‑CC proposals (training, lifestyle disorders, clinical research, drug standardisation, pharmacovigilance and Panchakarma) are under consideration. He has contributed to ICD‑11 TM modules and ICHI for traditional medicine, to the WHO Global Strategy for Traditional Medicine 2025–2034, and to the 1st and 2nd WHO Global Summits on Traditional Medicine and the New Delhi Declaration, and has represented India in 16 countries and over 20 international meetings, including the 1st Global Forum of WHO Collaborating Centres for TCIM (Lyon, 2026). Within the Jamnagar and Ministry of Ayush ecosystem, he has provided institutional leadership as Dean, ITRA; Head, Department of Dravyaguna; Director (Pharmacy and IQAC); Member Secretary, National Pharmacovigilance Resource Center for ASU drugs and Institutional Ethics Committee; and Chairman, Ayurvedic Pharmacopeia Committee and member, ASUDTAB. His contributions have been recognized through multiple honors, including the IASTAM Gopaldas Parikh Award for Drug Development and the SFE award.

Employment

  • Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Science Director General
    2022 - Present
  • Gujarat Ayurved University Professor( Regular)
    2016 - Present
  • Gujarat Ayurved University Professor( CAS)
    2013 - 2016
  • Gujarat Ayurved University Associate Professor
    2010 - 2013
  • Gujarat Ayurved University Reader
    2007 - 2010
  • Government Ayurved College Asst Professor
    1998 - 2007
  • Institue of Post Graduate Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Clinical Registrar ( Honourary)
    1996 - 1998
  • SSN Ayurved College and Research Institute Asst Professor
    1996 - 1998
  • Institute of Post Graduate Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Clinical Registrar ( Honourary)
    1994 - 1996

Education

  • Utkal University D.Sc.( Doctorate of Science)
    2015 - 2025
  • Gujarat Ayurved University PhD ( Doctor of Phylosophy)
    1996 - 2003
  • Gujarat Ayurved University M.D,( Ayu) ( Doctor of Medicine-Ayurveda -Dravyaguna)
    1993 - 1996
  • Utkal University B.A.M.S. ( Bachelor of Ayurveda Medicine and Surgery)
    1986 - 1993
  • Utkal University B.Sc.( Bachelor Of Science)
    1984 - 1986
  • Utkal University I.Sc.( Intermediate Science)
    1984 - 1984
  • Board of Secondary Education HSC( Higher Secondary Certificate)
    1977 - 1982

Projects & Funding

Projects & funding information is unavailable.

Publications (578)