President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday emphasised the need for documentation and standardisation of knowledge held by villagers and tribals about herbs and plants with medicinal values in order to save such information from going extinct.

Speaking at the third convocation of Pt Deendayal Memorial Health Science and Ayush University in Nava Raipur, the President said Chhattisgarh has a treasure of herbs and medicinal plants, of which villagers and tribals have immense knowledge.

"Documentation and standardisation of such knowledge is important to preserve them and save them from going extinct. By promoting research on the knowledge base of forest dwellers, such information can be used on a wide scale. It will also create employment opportunities," she said.

The President pointed out that infectious diseases such as malaria, filaria and tuberculosis (TB) were yet to be fully eradicated from the country, adding that the Union government was taking concerted efforts to wipe them out.

"Sickle cell anaemia is a major problem among tribal communities. The Union government has been trying to overcome it through the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Mission," Murmu said.

Speaking about climate change and global warming, the President said food habits of people across the world have been making problems associated with these two aspects even more complex.

The WWF's Living Planet Report 2024 has stated that India's food habits are considered the most sustainable in the economy, she said.

"This underlines the importance of our traditional lifestyle, which we get from Ayurveda," President Murmu said.

She also said doctors must consider dedicating some tenure of their profession to rural areas.