THE MINISTER OF AYUSH
(SHRI SARBANANDA SONOWAL)
(a): Yes, the market of Medicinal Plants has increased in India as well as all over the world in last few years due to awareness among people towards natural herbs and Traditional Medicines.
(b & C): National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), Ministry of AYUSH has compiled & published a book in 2017 entitled “Medicinal Plants in India: An Assessment of their Demand and Supply” authored by Dr. G. S. Goraya & Shri D.K. Ved .Book is available at https://nmpb.nic.in/publications
The Demand & Supply study (Ved & Goraya, 2017) has been depicted in the form of comprehensive inventory of 1622 herbal raw drugs correlated to 1178 medicinal plant species in commercial demand. Total consumption of herbal raw drugs in the country for the year 2014-15 has been estimated at 5,12,000 MT with corresponding trade value of Rs. 7,000 crore. Herbal raw drugs obtained from 242 medicinal plant species collected, cultivated or imported largely for use in health care are used in high quantities, with each species being used more than 100MT per year.
Further analysis of these 242 species reveals that supply source of 15 species (6%) is through import; 54 species (22%) are obtained from Cultivation; 59 species (25%) are wild collected from landscapes outside forests; and 114 species (47%) are collected from forests (36) species from the Himalayan temperate forests and 78 species from tropical forests).
The quantum of medicinal plants exported under HS Code 1211 from the country during the last two financial years i.e. 2019-20 to 2020-21 (data source: https://tradestat.commerce.gov.in/eidb/icomq.asp available at website of Department of Commerce, M/o Commerce & Industry) is as follows:
(Values in US $ Million)
S.No. HS Code Commodity 2019-20 2020-21
1. 1211 PLNTS AND PRTS OF PLNTS INCLD SEDS AND FRUTS USD FOR PRFUMRY PHRMACY/INSCTCIDL OR SMLR PUR FRSH/DRID, CHLD/FROZ W/N CUT CRSHD 283.52 377.63
(d) Yes, Ministry of AYUSH has prepared a draft scheme namely “Pradhan Mantri VRIKSH AYUSH Yojana” for the promotion of Medicinal Plant Cultivation, Post-harvest management and Marketing support by involving farmers and the AYUSH industry. The proposed scheme has been submitted for the approval of the Cabinet.
(e) As per the data received from Botanical Survey of India (BSI), an organization under Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change has reported that some of the medicinal & aromatic plants with high commercial value became endangered or critically endangered due to over exploitation and anthropogenic activities. About 76 threatened and critically endangered species are given as follows:
Aconitum balfouri, Aconitum chasmanthum, Aconitum deinorrhizum, Aconitum falconeri var latilobum, Aconitum ferox, Aconitum heterophyllum, Acorus gramineus, Allium stracheyi, Amyris balsamifera, Angelica glauca, Anogeissus sericea var. numularia, Aquillaria mallaccensis, Aquilaria khasiana, Aristolochia bracteolata, Aristolochia indica, Arnebia benthamii, Atropa acuminata, Berberis affinis, Berberis apiculata, Berberis aristata, Bergenia stracheyi, Boronia megastigma, Capparis pachyphylla, Carum villosum, Cedrus deodara,Chlorophytum borivilianum, Colchicum luteum, Commiphora wightii, Coptis teeta, Coscinium fenestratum, Dactylorhiza hatagirea, Dioscorea deltoidea, Elaeocarpus prunifolius, Ephedra gerardiana, Ferrula gummosa, Gaultheria fragrantissima, Gentiana kurooa, Gloriosa superba, Gymnocladus assamicus, Hedychium coronarium, Hedychium spicatum, Hyoscyamus niger, Hydnocarpus macrocarpa, Inula racemosa, Iphigenia indica, Iphigenia pallida, Iphigenia stellata, Jurinea dolomiaea, Kolanchoe roseus,Lilium polyphyllum, Madhuca insignis, Myristica fragrans, Myroxylon balsamum var. pereirae, Nardostachys grandiflora, Origanum vulgare, Panax pseudoginseng, Picrorhiza kurrooa, Podophyllum hexandrum, Pogostemon cablin, Pterocarpus santalinus, Rauvolfia serpentina, Rheum emodi, Santalum album, Satureja horensis, Saussurea bracteata, Saussurea costus, Saussurea gnaphalodes, Swertia chirayita, Taxus wallichiana, Taxocarpus kurzii,Tribulus rajasthanensis, Urginea indica, Urginea maritima and Valeriana leschenaultia, Vitex peduncularis.
(f) The National Medicinal Plants Board is presently implementing a “Central Sector Scheme on Conservation, Development and Sustainable Management of Medicinal Plants” throughout the country which supports the following activities:
i). In-situ conservation/ Ex-situ conservation
ii). Livelihood linkages with Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs)/Panchayats/ Van Panchayats/ Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs)/ Self Help Groups (SHGs).
iii). IEC activities like Training/ Workshops/ Seminars/ Conference etc.
iv). Research & Development.
v). Promotion, marketing and trade of medicinal plants produce.
Beside this, CSIR-CIMAP is hosting a National Gene Bank of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants and is conserving genetic resources of medicinal and aromatic plants in India through seed and field gene banks. In seed bank around 2476 accessions belonging to 515 different medicinal and aromatic plants species are being conserved. Besides, live plants of 868 accessions of 227 medicinal and aromatic plants species are conserved in the institute’s Field Gene Bank.
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