PIB News Update: The Minister of State (The Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy), Sh. Kiren Rijiju (Additional Charge) has informed that National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) has established seven Regional Cum Facilitation Centres (RCFCs) in different regions of the country. The list of centres functional in different regions of the country are as under:
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- Regional Cum Facilitation Centre (Northern Region-1) at Research Institute in Indian Systems of Medicine (RIISM), Department of Ayurveda, Jogendra Nagar, Himachal Pradesh
- Regional Cum Facilitation Centre (Northern Region-2) at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-K), Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir
- Regional Cum Facilitation Centre (Central Region) at State Forest Research Institute (SFRI), Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
- Regional Cum Facilitation Centre (Eastern Region) at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, West Bengal
- Regional Cum Facilitation Centre (Southern Region) at Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI), Peechi, Thrissur, Kerala
- Regional Cum Facilitation Centre (North Eastern Region) at Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam.
- Regional Cum Facilitation Centre (Western Region) at Department of Botany, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, Maharashtra
Ministry of Finance, Government of India has announced ₹4000 Crore package under Atmanirbhar Bharat for Promotion of Herbal Cultivation. Accordingly, the Ministry of AYUSH has prepared a draft scheme namely “Pradhan Mantri VRIKSH AYUSH Yojana” for consideration and approval of Government to promote cultivation and marketing of medicinal plants.
RCFCs are acting as an extended arm for NMPB to implement its various schemes with different State level department like State Medicinal Plants Boards (SMPBs) / State Forests / Agriculture / Horticulture Department etc. in achieving the mandate of NMPB.
To encourage cultivation of herbal / medicinal plants, the Ministry of AYUSH is presently implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National AYUSH Mission (NAM) throughout the country. Under the NAM Scheme, 140 species of herbal / medicinal plants have been prioritized for cultivation which also include species endemic to specific regions.