Medicinal and aromatic plants have always grabbed public attention. Some of them are incredibly beautiful and some are not commonly found. Their intrinsic value to the health and well-being of human beings and animals has also been well established over the years. At the same time, not many of us are fully aware of the usefulness and medicinal value of most of these plants. 

In an effort to create awareness about the usefulness of these plants, the Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic plants (CIMAP) has announced a photography competition on medicinal and aromatic plants. Through this competition, CIMAP also wants to convey the message of conservation of these medicinal plants.

The theme of the competition is ‘Know your Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs)’. The winners will receive cash awards of Rs. 5000, Rs. 3000, and Rs. 2000 for first, second, and third prizes, respectively. In addition, there will be consolation prizes of Rs. 1000 each for another 10 entries.

Key features of the competition

• Open to all Indian amateur and professional photographers.
• Up to three photographs may be submitted for each entry.
• Indigenous plants are preferred and the Institute has requested to avoid images of very common horticulture or ornamental plants.
• Digital images should be e-mailed at pc@cimap.res.in. The last date of submission of the entries is June 30, 2020. For further details of the competition, one can visit www.cimap.res.in.
• Each photograph should have a correct Latin and vernacular name of the plant and its medicinal and aromatic importance in about 20-30 words.
• Only the original digital images will be accepted but entries have to accompany with colour prints printed on an A4 page and unmounted.
• Digital image entries must not be less than 3 MB size with minimum resolution of 300 dpi.
• The images should be in JPEG or TIFF format and the display resolution should be 1086 x 768 and the longer side should not be more than 1086.
• The raw image files might be asked for at a later date if screened for awards.

The participant has to make a self-declaration that the images have been shot by the person sending the mail for gaining entry into the competition. The copyright of winning images will remain with the photographer, but CIMAP will have the right to exhibit the entries and use them in publicity materials for the promotion of medicinal and aromatic plants.

The winners will be chosen by judges nominated by the Director, CSIR-CIMAP, Lucknow. The decision of the judges will be final. The winners will be announced on the Annual Day of CSIR-CIMAP.