Conflicting responses from a top central government medical institution and India’s homoeopathy research council to queries about their 21-month partnership have prompted a doctor to question why the institutions are not open about the outcomes of their taxpayer-funded collaboration.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar, responding to the doctor’s Right to Information (RTI) Act query, has declined to share information about studies or research under its collaboration with the Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH) announced in May 2023.

The CCRH, funded by the Union ministry for ayurveda, yoga, unani, siddha and homoeopathy, is engaged in research on homoeopathy, supporting studies and clinical trials.

The AIIMS had said in May 2023 that its collaboration with the CCRH was seeking “to integrate homoeopathy into the existing health care system… provide productive synergy for cooperation in research and education… (and) reduce the over usage of modern medicine drugs”.

Responding to the RTI query from K.V. Babu, an ophthalmologist and RTI activist in Kannur, Kerala, the AIIMS said the information sought by him covers intellectual property and trade secrets that are exempt from RTI disclosures unless “larger public interest warrants” its disclosure.

Babu had asked the AIIMS and the CCRH whether any study or research had emerged through the collaboration.

The CCRH responded by saying: “No such study/research report is available at present.”

The announcement of the collaboration had angered sections of modern medical practitioners who are opposed to what they view as the Centre’s attempts to integrate modern medicine with traditional medicine systems that they claim disregard the need for rigorous research.

“Maintaining transparency is a critical requirement in public-funded scientific and medical research — not creating hype over nothing,” Babu told The Telegraph. “The AIIMS claimed in May 2023 that the collaboration is aimed at reducing overuse of modern medical drugs. What have they done towards that goal over these 21 months? The public has a right to know. Both institutions are funded by taxpayers.”

Some doctors have questioned the Centre’s funding for homoeopathy research when health and drug regulatory agencies in some countries, including the UK and the US, do not recognise homoeopathy as a proven treatment for health disorders.

However, large quantities of homoeopathic drugs are sold across the UK and the US, among other countries. A market research agency estimated in a November 2021 report that the global homoeopathy products market size was $6.2 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $19.7 billion by 2030.

The AIIMS-CCRH memorandum of understanding says the collaboration will seek to provide opportunities for scientists and faculty from both institutions to exchange thoughts through brainstorming sessions and seminars, work jointly in areas of common research interest and support academic training and research.

The health ministry told Parliament in July 2022 that India had 1.3 million modern medical practitioners registered with medical councils across the country.