The importance of herb, shrub and trees for curing and preventing ailments is an old age tradition, which has been relegated to the background due to invasion of modern allopathic system of drug. There is an awakening all over the globe to turn back to the traditional treatment using plants part as an affordable way and to revive traditional system of medicine uninterrupted supply of genuine raw material are of prime necessity.
The resource pool of the medicinal plants were abundant in forest but forest areas are dwindling fast due to anthropogenic pressure. Therefore the alternative means to generate more raw materials could be only through cultivation of medicinal plants in agriculture fields.
NMPB is working to promote cultivation of medicinal plants and supported in a Mission mode under Centrally Sponsored Scheme of "National Mission on Medicinal Plants (NMMP)” since 2014-15 and now continuing under National AYUSH Mission (NAM), a flagship program launched by the Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India during XII Plan period. The program is being implemented in the country through State Government designated agencies.
The main objective of NMPB is to encourage cultivation of medicinal plants and its sustainable management across the country and to reduce pressure on the collection from wild habitat in forests.