Medicinal, herbal and aromatic plants constitute a large
segment of the flora, which provide raw materials for use by pharmaceutical,
cosmetic, fragrance and flavour industries. They have been used in the
country for a long time for their medicinal properties.
India is considered as a treasure house of valuable medicinal
and aromatic plant species. It has 15 agro-climatic zones, 47000 different
plant species and 15000 medicinal plants. About 2000 native plant species
have curative properties and 1300 species are known for their aroma and
flavour. The Indian systems of medicines, popularly known as Ayurveda,
Unani and Siddha drugs are of great demand in the country. It has identified
1500 medicinal plants, of which 500 species are mostly used in the preparation
of drugs.
The medicinal plants contribute to cater 80% of the raw
materials used in the preparation of drugs. The effectiveness of these
drugs mainly depend upon the proper use and sustained availability of
genuine raw materials. The domestic market of Indian Systems of Medicine
and Homeopathy is of the order of Rs. 4000 crores (2000), which is expanding
day by day. The Ayurveda drug market alone is of the order of Rs. 3500
crores (2000). Besides this, there is also a growing demand for natural
products including items of medicinal value/ pharmaceuticals, food supplements
and cosmetics in both domestic and international markets.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests have identified
and documented over 9500 plant species considering their importance in
the pharmaceutical industry. Out of these, about 65 plants have large
and consistent demand in world trade. In terms of market share in production
value, India holds the 6th place. India, with its diversified biodiversity,
has a tremendous potential and advantage in the export area. India’s
export from medicinal and herbal plants is Rs. 446 crores (2000).
Some commercially important Medicinal Plants are:- Amla,
Chirata, Kalmegh, Safed Musali, Ashok, Daruhaldi, Kokum, Sarpgandha, Ashwagandha,
Giloe, Kuth, Senna, Atees, Gudmar Kutki, Shatavari, Bael, Guggal, Makoy,
Tulsi, Bhumi, Amlaki, Isabgol, Mulethi, Vai Vidang, Brahmi, Jatamansi,
Patharchur (Coleus), Vatsnabh, Chandan, Kalihari, Pippal, etc.
According to WHO report, over 80% of the world population
relies on traditional medicine largely plant based for their primary healthcare
needs. The international market of herbal products is estimated to be
US $ 62 billion which is poised to grow to US $ 5 trillion by the year
2050. The EXIM bank of India, in its report (1997), has reported that
the value of medicinal plants related trade in India is of the order of
5.5 billion US dollars and is growing rapidly.
Further, India presents a great investment and business
opportunity in the herbal sector, with the prospects of the country emerging
as a global leader in the field. In recent times, there has been an enlightened
awareness among the citizens of the country about the natural advantages
that this country is endowed with. Herbal Tea is one of the most commonly
used aromatic herbs, which has its own importance. It is gaining popularity
due to its multipoint effects. The thrust area is to develop the disease-specific
herbal tea.
All this proves that India has one of the richest plant
medical cultures in the world. There exists innumerable opportunities
in the various segments of aromatic, medicinal and herbal plantations.
Various efforts, both at the Central and State level, have been actively
undertaken to attract significant investments into the sector and promote
entrepreneurial activities therein.
Organisational Set Up
The Department
of Agriculture and Cooperation, under the Ministry of Agriculture,
is the main agency for promoting the integrated development of aromatic
and herbal plantations in India. It is actively involved in framing policies
and schemes for the sector.
The National
Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) has been set up at the Central level
for the overall development of medicinal plants sector in the country.
It is mainly responsible for co-ordination of all matters relating to
medicinal plants, including drawing up policies and strategies for conservation,
proper harvesting, cost-effective cultivation, research and development,
processing, marketing of raw material with a view to protect, sustain
and develop this sector. The main functions of the Board are to:-
- assess the demand/supply position relating to medicinal
plants both within the country and abroad;
- advise concerned Ministries/ Departments/ Organizations/
State/ UT Governments on policy matters relating to schemes and programmes
for development of medicinal plants;
- provide guidance in the formulation of proposals, schemes
and programmes etc. to be taken-up by agencies having access to land
for cultivation and infrastructure for collection, storage and transportation
of medicinal plants;
- promote identification, inventorisation and quantification
of medicinal plants;
- promote ex-situ/in-situ cultivation and conservation
of medicinal plants;
- promote co-operative efforts among collectors and growers
and assist them to store, transport and market their produce effectively;
- set up data-base system for inventorisation, dissemination
of information and facilitate the prevention of patents being obtained
for medicinal use of plants which is in the public domain;
- deal with matters relating to import/export of raw material,
as well as value added products either as medicine, food supplements
or as herbal cosmetics including adoption of better techniques for marketing
of product to increase their reputation for quality and reliability
in the country and abroad;
- undertake and award scientific, technological research
and cost-effectiveness studies;
- develop protocols for cultivation and quality control;
- encourage the protection of patent rights and other intellectual
property rights (IPRs).
Presently, at the national level, 32 Medicinal Plants have
been prioritised for development. They have actively formulated schemes
and guidelines for financial assistance in different areas of medicinal
plants sector covered under Promotional and Commercial schemes applicable
both for Government and non-government organizations. (i) Promotional
scheme mainly includes survey, conservation, herbal gardens, extension
activities, demand-supply studies, R&D, value addition, etc.; and
(ii) Commercial scheme mainly includes production of quality planting
material, large scale cultivation, post harvest technology studies, innovative
marketing mechanism, etc. Further, Regional workshop for creating awareness,
discussing uniform monitoring mechanism and sensitising the Principal
Investigators of the projects have been organized in six selected places
in the country.
With the initiative of NMPB, State Medicinal Plants Boards
(SMPBs) have been set up to address the related issues for development
and growth of medicinal plants sector in the country at the regional/
State level. Till September 2006, thirty five (35) SMPBs have been constituted.
Some of these are:-
