Union Minister of Science and Technology Jitendra Singh inaugurated India's first 'Lavender Festival' in Bhaderwah on May 27.Lavender is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae.

• The flowers may be blue, violet or lilac in the wild species, occasionally blackish purple or yellowish.
• Lavender has been used over centuries in traditional medicine and cosmetics.
• Bhaderwah is a town in the district Doda of Jammu.
• India’s first National Institute of High Altitude Medicine is also being built in Bhaderwah.
• Bhaderwah has been described as the birthplace of India’s Purple Revolution.