‘One Herb, One Standard’ to Boost Traditional Medicine Quality
PCIM&H and IPC renew three-year MoU to harmonise scientific standards for medicinal plants
- The renewed MoU will establish common standards for medicinal plants used across traditional medicine systems.
- The first phase resulted in 50 medicinal plant monographs.
- Standards will consider Indian requirements as well as international quality benchmarks.
- Union Minister Prataprao Jadhav said the initiative will strengthen credibility and global acceptance of traditional medicines.
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 12th Aug: The Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H), Ministry of Ayush, and the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, on Wednesday renewed their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for implementing the “One Herb, One Standard” initiative.
The renewed three-year framework aims to develop uniform, reliable and scientifically robust quality standards for medicinal plants used across Ayurveda, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa, Unani and Homoeopathy.
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Ayush, and Minister of State, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Shri Prataprao Ganpatrao Jadhav, said scientifically developed standards for quality, purity and standardisation are essential to strengthening the credibility of India’s traditional systems of medicine.
He said the “One Herb, One Standard” approach seeks to establish a common scientific and reliable standard for the same medicinal plant used across different systems of medicine, reducing ambiguity among stakeholders.
According to the Ministry, the renewed partnership will take into account Indian standards as well as international quality requirements. Aligning Indian standards with global benchmarks is expected to enhance the quality and reliability of Indian medicinal plants and products and support their wider international acceptance.
Shri Jadhav also highlighted the potential of harmonised standards to improve the Ease of Doing Business by making processes more streamlined and transparent for manufacturers, exporters, testing laboratories and regulatory institutions.
The collaboration builds on an MoU initiated in 2022. During its first phase, 50 monographs of medicinal plants were developed. The renewed framework will expand this work by harmonising standards for medicinal plants used across different traditional medicine systems.
The Minister said the initiative also reflects coordinated efforts between government institutions to strengthen standardisation while protecting India’s biodiversity and traditional medicinal heritage.
The MoU was exchanged by Dr. Kousthubha Upadhyaya, Director I/c, PCIM&H, and Dr. V. Kalaiselvan, Secretary-cum-Scientific Director, IPC, in the presence of Shri Prataprao Jadhav and Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, at Kartavya Bhavan, New Delhi.
The Ministry said the renewed partnership is expected to strengthen scientific excellence, quality assurance and global acceptance of India’s traditional systems of medicine through a harmonised approach to medicinal plant standardisation.
