Indian Government: Setting Up of the Medicinal Plant Board Now Is Significant

NOV 13, 2000, M2 Communications - Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. C.P.Thakur has informed the Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to his Ministry that setting up of the Medicinal Plant Board now is significant in view of the 60 percent increase in demand for alternative medicine in the developed countries during the last decade and seven percent annual growth rate of its market.

Addressing the Members of the Consultative Committee meeting held at Kovalam, near Thiruvananthapuram on 12th November, the Minister said that the Government has recently approved setting up of a Medicinal Plant Board to coordinate all matters relating to cultivation, harvest, processing and marketing of medicinal plants in the country.

In order to prevent patenting by others, the Department of ISM&H plans to start a digital library to store all the ancient knowledge about therapeutic values of herbs and medicinal plants of the country.

Smt. Shailaja Chandra, Secretary, ISM&H presented a report on the Department's activities in the meeting. Dr. S.P.Agarwal, DGHS, Shri M.M.Aggarwal, Smt. Selvie Das, Dr. Y.Radhakrishna Murthy, Shri Virendra Kumar and Shri Sakshi Maharaj, all MPs attended the meeting.

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