Senior officials, experts, industry
leaders, researchers, and state representatives came together for focused
deliberations on policy, implementation, and innovation in the medicinal plants
sector at Chintan Shivir on Medicinal Plants in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. It
was organised by National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), Ministry of Ayush on
February 11.
They deliberated on themes such as the role
of government in sectoral development, supply-chain and traceability, organic
certification and insurance, and best practices for upscaling successful models
across the country.
The inaugural session was led by Union
Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Ayush and Minister of State for
Health and Family Welfare, Prataprao Jadhav.
Intensive discussions across technical sessions, panel discussions, a
CEOs Conclave and best-practices were presented by Regional cum Facilitation
Centres (RCFCs) and State Medicinal Plants Boards (SMPBs).
The programme, which marked 25 years of
NMPB, aimed at strengthening the entire value chain—from conservation and
cultivation to processing, trade and export—through coordinated action by the
Union and state governments, industry and farmers.
The Minister released the Souvenir
commemorating 25 years of NMPB, the Terrace Garden Booklet, and launched a new
variety of Anacyclus pyrethrum developed by CSIR-CIMAP, Lucknow. He witnessed
the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between NMPB and AIIA to strengthen
collaborative research and innovation.
Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, Vaidya Rajesh
Kotecha stated that the next phase of the journey must focus on scientific
validation, traceability, and climate resilience to ensure that India’s diverse
medicinal flora is conserved and optimally utilised in alignment with
international standards.
Technical sessions highlighted the
centrality of medicinal plants in Ayurveda and other Ayush systems as well as
in public health and rural livelihoods; underlined the need to conserve
medicinal flora, promote evidence-based use and link traditional knowledge with
contemporary research; proposed schemes of NMPB to support cultivation,
conservation and value addition and elaborated on schemes for cultivation and
related activities for medicinal plants, emphasising convergence with existing
horticulture and allied sector programmes.
Dr. Sujana Pal, Nodal Coordinator,
RCFC-South, explained the monitoring procedures for NMPB-supported projects,
underscoring transparency, timely reporting and outcome-oriented evaluation;
the session concluded with an open house discussion and chairperson’s remarks
summarising key recommendations.
A panel discussion on ‘Supply-Chain,
Industry-Linkages and Traceability of Medicinal Plants’, was held by
representatives from state boards, academia and industry to discuss practical
solutions for strengthening market access and ensuring quality.
The discussion emphasised developing
farmer–industry linkages, promoting contract farming under fair and transparent
terms, and leveraging digital platforms to track origin, quality, and movement
of medicinal plant raw material from farm to finished product.
The third session addressed the need for
tailored insurance products for medicinal plants under existing schemes and
better access to market information to support farmers and entrepreneurs.
The Conclave underscored the need to deepen
convergence between NMPB schemes and national missions in agriculture, forestry
and health, invest in human resource development across RCFCs and SMPBs, and
harness digital tools for mapping, monitoring and outreach besides focussing on
climate-resilient species, community-based conservation, and stronger
interfaces with the Ayush industry and global markets to realise the vision of
a sustainable and globally competitive medicinal plants sector.
