Centre sanctions Rs 10 crore

The centre has sanctioned Rs 10 crore for the Confederation of Ayurvedic Renaissance Keralam Ltd (CARe-Keralam), the joint venture project between the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra) and 53 private sector Ayurveda product manufacturers.

The amount has been sanctioned under the Department of AYUSH, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, under the Scheme for Development of AYUSH Clusters. The project will function as a centre for standardisation under the good manufacturing practices (GMP) accepted by the industry. About 20,000 direct job opportunities would be generated in phases.

The final outlay of the project in a span of a few years will be about Rs 50 crore, a Kinfra official said. Apart from establishing a Kerala brand of ayurvedic products, CARe-Keralam will develop a Centre for Excellence for Research in Ayurveda, to be approved by international organisations. It also aims at supplying free or subsidised seedlings and plantation facilities to farmers to ensure medicinal plant resources.