The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has disbursed nearly ₹3.79 crore under the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) mechanism to 33 State Biodiversity Boards and Union Territory Biodiversity Councils, along with national institutions. The funds are linked to the commercial and research use of biological resources and are being distributed to support biodiversity conservation and local communities.
The latest release covers a range of India’s agricultural biodiversity. This includes tomato, chilli, brinjal, cauliflower, watermelon, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, okra and mustard seed varieties. It also includes deep frozen Sahiwal cattle semen. The ABS amounts were realised from companies including Bayer Science and Innovation Pvt. Ltd., HM Clause India Pvt. Ltd. and Advanta Enterprises Limited for accessing vegetable and oilseed genetic resources for research and commercial use. A separate amount was received from Sri Lanka’s Department of Animal Production and Health for access to Sahiwal cattle semen.
Under India’s ABS framework, benefits arising from the use of biological resources are shared with the regions and institutions connected to those resources. The framework operates under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and is aligned with the Nagoya Protocol. In cases where biological resources were accessed through markets, traders or intermediaries and the original source could not be identified, the NBA used benefit sharing procedures prepared by an Expert Committee and approved by the Authority.
The funds were distributed among State Biodiversity Boards and Union Territory Biodiversity Councils based on the areas where the respective crops are cultivated. The allocation used cultivation area data published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
Among the individual resources covered, tomato seed varieties and hybrids received ₹86.56 lakh, while chilli received ₹83.76 lakh. Advanta Enterprises Limited contributed ₹148 lakh towards the use of germplasm from bitter gourd, bottle gourd, brinjal, cauliflower, hot pepper, okra and tomato. Cauliflower received ₹26.98 lakh, watermelon ₹24.32 lakh and brinjal ₹7.18 lakh. Mustard seed varieties accounted for ₹0.57 lakh, while Sahiwal cattle semen accounted for ₹0.98 lakh.
Madhya Pradesh received the largest state level share at ₹46.93 lakh, followed by West Bengal at ₹44.76 lakh and Odisha at ₹44.08 lakh. Gujarat received ₹34.76 lakh, Andhra Pradesh ₹29.21 lakh and Bihar ₹29.20 lakh. Other major recipients included Karnataka with ₹21.34 lakh, Chhattisgarh with ₹18.49 lakh, Tamil Nadu with ₹16.57 lakh, Uttar Pradesh with ₹16.24 lakh and Maharashtra with ₹16.15 lakh. Telangana received ₹9.24 lakh, Haryana ₹8.76 lakh, Assam ₹8.49 lakh, Jharkhand ₹8.14 lakh, Punjab ₹7.41 lakh and Rajasthan ₹5.17 lakh. Other beneficiaries together received ₹13.70 lakh.
The recipient biodiversity boards and councils are required to use the funds for activities such as preparing and updating People’s Biodiversity Registers, conserving biodiversity in natural and controlled settings, strengthening Biodiversity Heritage Sites and building the capacity of Biodiversity Management Committees. The funds can also support the socio economic development of local communities.
The mechanism ensures that benefits generated through the commercial use of India’s biological resources are directed back towards conservation and the communities involved in protecting those resources. It also strengthens the connection between scientific research, commercial use of biological resources and biodiversity conservation.
The latest disbursement supports India’s commitments under the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, particularly Target 13 on fair and equitable benefit sharing from genetic resources and Target 4 on the conservation of genetic diversity. It also contributes to Sustainable Development Goals including SDG 2 on Zero Hunger, SDG 12 on Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 15 on Life on Land and SDG 17 on Partnerships for the Goals.
With the latest release, cumulative ABS disbursements by the National Biodiversity Authority have now crossed ₹166 crore. The continued flow of these funds is aimed at strengthening biodiversity conservation while ensuring that communities and institutions connected with India’s biological resources also benefit from their research and commercial use.
