The National Medicinal Plants Board was set up in November 2000 by the Central government with the primary mandate of coordinating all matters relating to medicinal plants and support policies and programmes for their growth , export, conservation and cultivation in the country. Medicinal plants are not only a major resource base for the traditional medicine and herbal industry but also provide livelihood and health security to a large segment of Indian population. India has 15 agroclimatic zones and 17000 to 18000 species of flowering plants of which 6000-7000 are estimated to have medicinal usage in folk and documented systems of medicine, like Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy. About 960 species of medicinal plants are estimated to be in trade and out of that 178 species have annual consumption in excess of 100 tones. The domestic trade of the Ayush industry is estimated to be Rs. 80 to 90 billion. Indian medicinal plants and their products are also being exported to many developed countries. The Centre’s decision to set up NMPB is in the context of these realities and in consideration of the potential of ayurvedic medicines in the country. Soon after the formation NMPB at the Centre, State governments have been asked to set up boards at state levels in 2002 for a proper coordination and implementation of the national programme. The support of State governments is considered vital for the successful cultivation and conservation of medicinal plants in the country.
Almost 12 years after the establishment of NMPB at the Centre and the launch of the national programme for medicinal plants, most State governments have not set up boards in States. Currently, only eight States namely Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and West Bengal have SMPBs. This has resulted in the lapse of Central funds allocated for the cultivation and preservation of medicinal plants in the States. Lack of initiative on the part of the State governments in setting up local boards and the current status of the programmes of NMPB had now come under the scrutiny of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health. The Committee felt that SMPBs with full-time chief executive officers will certainly lead to better implementation of the Schemes and programmes of NMPB and more efficient deployment of financial resources. It is surprising that the Department of Ayush and NMPB did not taken any serious follow up measures to motivate State governments to set up regional boards for over a decade. The decision of the NMPB now to review and overhaul the entire project after such a lapse of time is disappointing. At present, an evaluation of the schemes is under way and the programmes may be revised as per the outcome of the evaluation. The need to have large scale scientific cultivation of medicinal plants has to be understood in the context of poor quality of ayurvedic raw materials currently available in the country. The main source of raw materials for Ayush and herbal products continues to be from the forests and materials are being supplied by the tribals.