National Medicinal Plants Board

News: The National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), under the Ministry of Ayush organised a one-day Chintan Shivir at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

Establishment and Authority

• The NMPB was established by the Government of India in the year 2000.
• It functions as a specialized section under the Ministry of AYUSH, which covers Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy.
• Its primary mandate is to create a coordination mechanism between various ministries, departments, and international organizations to ensure the holistic growth of the medicinal plants sector.

Core Objectives

1. The main goal of the NMPB is to provide a unified platform for policy implementation. By acting as a nodal agency, it bridges the gap between the farmers who grow these plants and the industries that process them into medicines.
2. It works at the Central, State, and even International levels to promote Indian medicinal flora globally.

Key Functions and Activities

The board performs several vital functions to protect and promote our botanical heritage:

• Conservation Strategies: It focuses on both In-situ (conservation within the natural habitat like forests) and Ex-situ (conservation outside natural habitats like botanical gardens) methods. This ensures that endangered species of medical and aromatic significance are protected.
• Research and Awareness: The NMPB promotes Research & Development (R&D) and capacity building. It encourages the creation of Home and School herbal gardens to raise awareness among students and the general public about the value of local herbs.
• Inventory and Mapping: One of its technical roles is the identification, inventorisation, and quantification of medicinal plants across India’s diverse climatic zones.
• Legal Protection: It actively encourages the protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and patent rights, ensuring that traditional Indian knowledge is legally shielded from bio-piracy.

Why this matters

India is often called the “Botanical Garden of the World” because of its rich biodiversity. The NMPB ensures that this wealth is used sustainably. By providing training to farmers and financial support for cultivation, the board helps in doubling farmers’ income while providing high-quality raw materials for the global AYUSH industry.