Recognizing the urgent need for stimulating research on medicinal plants in the country and for coordinating and consolidating some work already done by organizations like the Indian council of Agricultural Research, Indian Council of Medical Research, Tropical School of Medicine of Culcutta and various States Governments and Individual workers, the Council Scientific and Industrial Research approved in 1957 the establishment of the Central Indian Medicinal Plants Organization (CIMPO) with the following objectives. ‘To co-ordinate and channelise along fruitful directions the present activities in the field of medicinal plants carried out by the various agencies, State Governments etc., to develop the already existing medicinal plants resources of India, to bring under cultivation some of the important medicinal plants in great demand and also to introduce the cultivation into the country of exotic medicinal plants of high yielding active principal content’ It was further decide that as the work on all aspects of cultivation of aromatics plants was identical with all the cultivation of medicinal plants, the aromatic plants should also be covered within the scope of CIMPO. The Essential Oils Research Committee functioning under the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research was then dissolved and its activities taken over by CIMPO. The Organization started functioning with effect from 26 March 1959 with the appointment of late Shri P.M. Nabar its first Officer Incharge. The branch in
Hyderabad was established on 7 July 1982. In February 2024, CIMAP announced that it will set up a unit for the development of a synthetic biology platform for high-value phytomolecules. == Research ==