Clean Plant program: UPSC Daily Important Topic | 1 March 2023

Clean Plant program

✅With the demand for foreign planting materials of fruits like apples, avocados and blueberries rising over the years, the Central government plans to set up 10 ‘Clean Plant Centres’

✅Objective: To boost domestic production of the selected fruit crops

✅Services offered: disease diagnostic, therapeutics, multiplying of plants and generation of mother plants

✅Need for ‘Clean plant program’: Currently, it is difficult to get disease-free and genuine planting materials for horticultural crops in India.

✅Also, the process of importing plants is very cumbersome, as the imported plants must be kept in quarantine for two years.

✅Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare

✅Implementing agency: National Horticulture Board (NHB)

✅Funding: 100% be Central government

✅It will be set up under the ‘Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Program’ (announced in Budget 2023-24).