NMPB signs MoUs for conservation, cultivation of rare plants

The National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) on Monday signed two agreements for promoting the conservation and cultivation of rare, endangered and threatened medicinal plants and setting up of a national-level medicinal plants garden at AIIMS-Delhi.
The first Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), which comes under the Ayush ministry, and IshVed-Bioplants Venture in Maharashtra’s Pune. The second tripartite MoU was signed among NMPB, All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, the ministry said in a statement.
The MoUs were signed in the presence of Union Minister of State of Ayush (Independent Charge) and Minister of State for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Prataprao Jadhav.
Speaking on the occasion, Jadhav said, “The vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to build a healthier and self-reliant India by 2047 guides our efforts today. I congratulate all the institutions involved in signing these important MoUs, which represent a significant milestone in conserving and promoting India’s rich medicinal plant heritage.
“By integrating traditional knowledge with modern science, we are making meaningful progress toward realising this ambitious vision,” he said. The purpose behind the first MoU is to conserve and maintain the germplasm of rare, endangered and threatened (RET) medicinal plants through tissue culture methods to facilitate the supply of plants in the RET category used in the Ayush industry, the statement said.
The second MoU is for the establishment of a national-level medicinal plants garden on the premises of AIIMS-Delhi through the AIIA to spread awareness about medicinal plants, sharing knowledge and expertise of all the parties.
This will develop public awareness about the medicinal plants among patients and students who come from distant areas and will also benefit the visitors in the hospital premises, the statement said.
Both MoUs mark a milestone in the Ministry of Ayush’s continued efforts to promote evidence-based conservation, research, and public engagement in the medicinal plants sector, it added.