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The Parliamentary Panel on Health and Family Welfare has recommended the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), under the Ministry of Ayush, to set up more Regional Raw Drug Repositories (RRDRs) to collect, document and authenticate diverse medicinal plants, especially from ecologically sensitive zones.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare, in its 174th report on Demands for Grants 2026-27 of the Ministry of Ayush, noted that the NMPB has plans to establish eight RRDRs and one National Raw drug repository in the country for documentation, authentication and preservation of medicinal plant raw materials, and five RRDRs have been established so far.
Observing that these repositories play a pivotal role in the collection, documentation, identification and authentication of raw drugs sourced largely from their respective agro-climatic regions, the Panel, however, added that India possesses vast biodiversity and immense potential in medicinal plants, while the present number of repositories has limited geographical jurisdiction which may not be sufficient to ensure comprehensive and timely documentation of the country’s rich medicinal plant resources.
"The Committee, therefore, recommends that NMPB consider establishing at least three additional Regional Raw Drug Repositories, particularly in biodiversity-rich regions such as the Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats and the North-Eastern region, so as to capture the diverse medicinal plant wealth of these ecologically sensitive zones and strengthen the national database of raw drugs for Ayush systems," said the Panel headed by Member of Parliament Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav.
The Panel expressed its desire that the remaining four Regional Raw Drug Repositories already envisaged under the existing plan, that is Western Himalayas, Eastern Himalayas and Eastern Plateau and Western coastal plains be established expeditiously so as to complete the originally proposed network at the earliest.
The Panel noted that the budgetary allocation for the Central Sector Scheme for Conservation, Development and Sustainable Management of Medicinal Plants has witnessed significant fluctuations between the Budget Estimates (BE) and Revised Estimates (RE) in recent years.
While in 2022-23, the RE was almost 99.5% of the Rs. 48.49 crore BE, in 2023-24, the RE was only 45.98% of the Rs. 43.49 crore BE, in 2024-25 RE was 80.83% of the Rs. 49.49 crore BE, and in 2025-26 almost 53% of the Rs. 65 crore BE, according to the data analysed by the Panel.
Such reductions at the RE stage may affect the continuity and effectiveness of activities relating to conservation, resource augmentation and research support.
"The Committee, therefore, recommends that the Ministry of Ayush, through the National Medicinal Plants Board, undertake more realistic assessment of financial requirements and strengthen planning and monitoring mechanisms so that funds allocated under the scheme are utilized in a timely and efficient manner, ensuring sustained progress in the conservation, development and sustainable management of medicinal plants," added the Panel.
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