J N T B G R I stands for Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute. It is an autonomous institute established by the Government of Kerala at Palode in Thiruvananthapuram. It was founded on 17 November 1979 with the objective of conserving the tropical plant resources of the country and undertaking research activities for their sustainable utilization. The institute was renamed in the fond memory of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the visionary Prime Minister of India, in 2011.
The institute has a conservatory garden for the wild tropical plant genetic resources of the country, spread over an area of 300 acres1. It also houses a well-integrated multidisciplinary R&D system that covers various fields such as conservation biology, plant taxonomy, biotechnology, phytochemistry, microbiology, ethnomedicine and ethnopharmacology.
The institute has made significant contributions to the discovery of new species, the documentation of the plant and microbial diversity of Kerala, the development of novel antimicrobial and anticancer agents, and the promotion of environmental education and awareness.
JNTBGRI is a renowned institution dedicated to the study, preservation, and propagation of tropical plants. It is also a member of the Global Genome Initiative (GGI) Gardens, a network of plant research institutions that aims to preserve and understand the genomic diversity of plants1. JNTBGRI is a place where science and nature meet, and where the vision of Jawaharlal Nehru lives on.