Parliament Question: Cultivation of medicinal plants in Odisha

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AYUSH RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3525 ANSWERED ON 24/03/2026 “Cultivation of medicinal plants in Odisha” 3525. Shri Muzibulla Khan: Will the Minister of AYUSH be pleased to state: (a) The area covered under medicinal plant cultivation in Odisha; (b) The financial assistance provided for herbal farming; (c) The steps taken to promote the export of Odisha’s herbal products; (d) whether any AYUSH clusters have been developed in the State; and (e) the support provided to farmers for growing medicinal plants? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF AYUSH (SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV) (a) & (b) Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare is implementing Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) - Centrally Sponsored Scheme for holistic growth of the horticulture sector covering fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic and medicinal plants, coconut, cashew, cocoa and bamboo throughout the country. Under MIDH scheme, provision has been made for providing assistance for area expansion of short duration medicinal plants i.e. non-perennial in nature and non-tree species. However, under MIDH scheme, Government of Odisha has not taken any targets for medicinal plants. Details of cost norms alongwith the pattern of assistance is given at Annexure – I. Earlier, Ministry of Ayush, Government of India had implemented Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National Ayush Mission (NAM) to promote the cultivation of medicinal plants from the financial year 2015-16 to 2020-21 throughout the country including Odisha. Ministry of Ayush had supported 866 hectare area under cultivation of medicinal plants in Odisha under medicinal plants component of National Ayush Mission (NAM) scheme from the financial year 2015-16 to 2020-21. The detail of area supported for cultivation of medicinal plants under medicinal plants component of National Ayush Mission (NAM) scheme in Odisha is at Annexure – II. 1Under the medicinal plants component of National Ayush Mission Scheme, M/o Ayush had approved an amount of Rs. 278.862 lakh to the Odisha state for medicinal plants cultivation and related activities such as establishment of nursery and Post-Harvest Management Unit from the F.Y. 2015-16 to 2020-21. The detail is at Annexure-II. ( c ) Ayush Export Promotion Council (AYUSHEXCIL), is a newly formed Export Promotion Council notified by Ministry of Commerce & Industry and supported by Ministry of Ayush, launched at Global Ayush Investment and Innovation Summit held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat on April 20, 2022. It is aimed to oversee exports of products of Ayurveda, Homoeopathy, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Unani systems and address trade issues pertaining to these sectors. It mandates to facilitate capacity building of its members on export procedures, organize Business to Business meetings, international events, road shows, seminars and workshops on the export of Ayush products, and to safeguard the scientific research in the field of Ayush healthcare. Further, for facilitating exports of Ayush products, Ministry of Ayush encourages following certifications of Ayush products as per details below: • Certification of Pharmaceutical Products (CoPP) as per WHO Guidelines for herbal products. • Quality Certifications Scheme implemented by the Quality Council of India (QCI) for grant of Ayush Premium mark to Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani products on the basis of third party evaluation of quality in accordance with the status of compliance to international standards. (d) & (e) Ministry of Ayush had sanctioned a project under the Central Sector Scheme for Development of Ayush Clusters for setting up of a Common Facility Centre (CFC) through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) at Ganjam, Odisha. The project was sanctioned in favour of M/s Rushikulaya Ayurvedic Cluster Pvt. Ltd., located at Ajodhya Nagar, Berhampur, Ganjam, Odisha. Earlier, Ministry of Ayush had supported market driven cultivation of 140 prioritized medicinal plants in identified clusters/zones under ‘Medicinal Plants’ component of the National Ayush Mission (NAM) Scheme from the Financial Year 2015-16 to 2020-21 throughout the country including the State of Odisha. During that period, M/o Ayush had approved an amount of Rs. 192.612 lakh to the Odisha state for cultivation of medicinal plants on farmers land under National Ayush Mission Scheme. Besides this, National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), Ministry of Ayush, Government of India is implementing Central Sector Scheme on “Conservation, Development and Sustainable Management of Medicinal Plants” throughout the country including Odisha 2wherein following activities are being supported under Forward and backward linkage in supply chain of medicinal plants (Integrated Component): • Infrastructure for Quality Planting Material to raise the planting material of medicinal plants for cultivation. • Information Education Communication (IEC) activities to aware the farmers. • Infrastructure for Post-Harvest Management and Marketing to increase the marketability of the medicinal plants, adding value to the produce, increasing profitability and reducing losses. • Quality Testing and Certification of raw material. As part of Annual Activities of RCFC-ER, a total of 6 Stakeholders Meet and 11 Training Programmes have been conducted in Odisha from 2018-2019 to 2024-2025 for promotion of cultivation of medicinal plants and its uses in ayurvedic medicine. These training Programmes and Stakeholders Meet benefitted almost 1700 Farmers, Collectors and other Stakeholders of Medicinal Plants in Odisha. RCFC-ER has developed and distributed 798,825 Quality Planting Materials (QPM) of medicinal plant species, resulting in the coverage of approximately 195 hectares under cultivation in Odisha. This initiative, undertaken by RCFC-ER, NMPB, has benefited nearly 200 farmers in cultivation of medicinal plants. ******* 3Annexure –I Cost norms for cultivation activities as per MIDH scheme Name of the Component Cost Norms Pattern of Assistance Medicinal Plants Rs. 1.5 Lakh/ha Assistance @ 40% in general areas for an area (Mulethi, Shatavari, upto 2 ha. on pro rata basis for meeting the Kalihari, Shwet Musali, expenditure on planting material and cost of Guggal, Manjishtha, material for Integrated Nutrient Management Kutki, Atees, Jatamansi, / Integrated Pest Management etc. in 2 Ashwagandha, Brahmi, instalments of 60:40 Tulsi, Vidarikand, Pippali, Chirata, In the case of North East & Himalayan States, Pushkarmool) Scheduled areas including TSP (Tribal Sub Plan) areas, vibrant villages, Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands, assistance will be @ 50% for an area upto 2 ha. on pro rata basis. 4Annexure – II The year-wise detail of area supported in Odisha for cultivation of medicinal plants under medicinal plants component of National Ayush Mission (NAM) scheme from the financial year 2015-16 to 2020-21. S.No. Financial Year Total Fund Fund approved (Rs. in Area approved (Rs. in lakh) for cultivation supported in lakh) including only hectare state share 1. 2015-16 0 0 - 2. 2016-17 117.548 107.548 488 3. 2017-18 0 0 - 4. 2018-19 161.314 85.064 378 5. 2019-20 0 0 - 6. 2020-21 0 0 - Total 278.862 192.612 866 5