Steps Taken by Government for Conservation and Promotion of Medicinal Plants

As per information of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI), an organization under Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change estimated more than 8,000 species of medicinal plants are found in India.

The National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), Ministry of AYUSH is presently implementing following schemes to encourage farming / cultivation, conservation, processing and promotion of medicinal plants throughout the country:

1. Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National AYUSH Mission (NAM).  Under ‘Medicinal Plants’ component of the NAM scheme the large scale farming / cultivation of medicinal plants is being supported.  As per the scheme guidelines, the support is provided for:

1. Cultivation of prioritized medicinal plants on farmer’s land.
2. Establishment of nurseries for supply of quality planting material.
3. Post-harvest management.
4. Primary processing, marketing infrastructure etc.

For cultivation, the support is provided as subsidy to farmers @ 30%, 50% and 75% based on cost of cultivation.

2. Central Sector Scheme on “Conservation, Development and Sustainable Management of Medicinal Plants”.  Under the scheme, the project based support is provided for following activities:

1. In-situ conservation through development of Medicinal Plants Conservation and Development Areas (MPCDAs).
2. In-situ/Ex-situ resource augmentation.
3. Ex-situ conservation through establishment of herbal gardens.
4. Livelihood linkages with Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs) / Panchayats / Van Panchayats / Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) / Self Help Groups (SHGs).
5. IEC activities like Training / workshops / Seminars/ Conferences etc.
6. Research & Development.
7. Promotion of marketing and trade of medicinal plants produce.

3. Voluntary Certification Scheme for Medicinal Plants Produce (VCSMPP). The scheme is aimed to encourage Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) and Good Field Collection Practices (GFCPs) in medicinal plants and enhance quality and safety of their produce.

This information was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.