Pariksha SaathiNational Biodiversity Authority Shares ₹2.02 Crore of Seed-Sector Benefit-Sharing Money with 27 States and 3 UTs
The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) announced on 10 October 2026 that it has passed on ₹2.02 crore to the State Biodiversity Boards of 27 states and the Biodiversity Councils of 3 Union Territories. The money is the beneficiaries' share of Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) payments made by seven seed companies that used Indian agricultural biological resources — including rice, brinjal, cauliflower, cucumber, hot pepper, bottle gourd, bitter gourd, tomato and okra — to develop varieties and hybrids. Because these resources were bought through markets and traders, the individual farmers or communities who supplied them could not be identified. The NBA therefore divided the amount among states according to the area under cultivation of each crop, as recorded in Agriculture Ministry statistics, following norms suggested by an expert committee. Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Odisha received the largest shares, and the top ten states together got ₹1.43 crore. The NBA put its cumulative ABS disbursement at ₹202 crore. The funds are meant for work such as strengthening Biodiversity Management Committees and updating People's Biodiversity Registers. The release also noted that COP 17 of the Convention on Biological Diversity opens in Yerevan, Armenia, on 19 October 2026.
Drafted with AI assistance from the official PIB release linked above and checked against it by a second AI pass. Not line-edited by a human.
Learning context
India enacted the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 to give effect to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The Act sets up a three-tier structure: the National Biodiversity Authority (headquartered in Chennai) at the national level, State Biodiversity Boards in the states, and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) at the level of local bodies. Access and Benefit-Sharing means that those who commercially use biological resources or associated knowledge must share a part of the benefits with the people and regions that conserved them.
Reference: National Biodiversity Authority's official website
Check yourself: which tier of the biodiversity structure is responsible for preparing People's Biodiversity Registers?
The Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) at the local-body level prepare People's Biodiversity Registers in consultation with local people; the NBA and State Boards guide and support them.
Revision task: note why the money in this release went to state boards by cultivation area instead of to identified farmers, and link that to the three-tier structure described above.
Test yourself
The National Biodiversity Authority passed on ₹2.02 crore of seed-sector Access and Benefit-Sharing money to the States. On what basis did it divide the amount among them?
Show the answer
Answer: In proportion to the area under cultivation of each crop
The resources were bought through markets and traders, so the individual farmers who supplied them could not be identified; the NBA divided the money by area under cultivation of each crop, per Agriculture Ministry statistics and expert-committee norms. Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Odisha received the largest shares.
Read the daily collection → · Editorial standards & corrections