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Government plans to promote medicinal plants

Aarti Dhar

Prioritised medicinal plants will be cultivated over 75,000 hectares
There are plans to raise 50 lakh seedlings

NEW DELHI: The Health and Family Welfare Ministry has decided to develop “clusters” across the country on the lines of special economic zones (SEZs) to promote medicinal and herbal plants.

To be set up at a cost of Rs.100 crore, the move is expected to double the current export of medicinal and herbal products from Rs. 500 crore to Rs.1,000 crore annually, according to S. Jalaja, Secretary, Department of AYUSH.

Locations identified

Inaugurating an Assocham Herbal Summit on Medical and Aromatic Products here earlier in the week, Ms. Jalaja said these clusters would come up in Hyderabad, Tamil Nadu, Assam, the northeast and some other locations which were being identified.

“The government has already allocated Rs. 4,000 crore in the 11th Plan. Of this, Rs. 1,000 crore had been earmarked for the National Medicinal Plant Board (NMPB) to promote medicinal plants in India. The remaining amount will be spent for various central and State government schemes.”

Ms. Jalaja said the department had also identified over six medicinal plants zones in agro-climatic zones at key locations like Kanyakumari.

A centrally-sponsored component for cultivation, processing, and marketing of medicinal plants was being started from the outlay of the NMPB.

There would be sub-components for financial allocation, cultivation of prioritised medicinal plants over 75,000 hectares; raising of 50 lakh seedlings, setting up of a centralised seed centre and creation of a nursery for cultivating planting materials for 15 States, she said.

Yet to explore

There were around 45,000 species of medicinal and herbal plants in the country, but the Indian industry has yet to explore the commercial potential, including the export of such plants.

Ms. Jalaja, however, was felt confident that within 5 to 10 years, the medicinal and herbal sector would take over the allopathy sector.

As part of its initiative, the government has earmarked eight States.

Call to industry

The Secretary called upon industry to participate in promoting medicinal and herbal plants. The government was willing to be a facilitator for the promotion of such plants.

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