Kochi: World Ayurveda Congress will be conducted here in November 2002. The four-day congress beginning 1 November will have 115 invited speakers, including 30 from abroad, presenting 320 research papers at six plenary and 20 parallel sessions. About 2,500 delegates are expected to attend the meet.

The congress is organised by the Swadeshi Science Movement and the federal health ministry in association with the governments of Kerala, Goa, Gujarat and Karnataka, apart from scientific and research institutions, herbal manufacturers and industry representatives.

Says a congress spokesperson: "A special herbal pavilion will be put up to showcase rare species of plants, which have spun off an industry worth $120 billion a year, of which ayurveda alone accounts for $60 billion."

Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani is scheduled to inaugurate the event and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa is likely to address the closing ceremony. The congress will hold discussions on the evolving steps to implement the already-floated national policy on ayurveda.

"The lacunae are that there is no consensus among various states on the system and in many states, government employees are not entitled to reimbursements for ayurvedic treatment," adds the spokesperson.