FAQ's

Section 38 of the BD Act provides for notifying threatened species by the Central Government, in consultation with the State Governments, which are on the verge of extinction or likely to become extinct in near future and may prohibit or regulate their collection for any purpose and take appropriate steps to rehabilitate and preserve those species.

As per the recent amendments, the Central Government may delegate the power to notify the threatened species to the State Government, and in such a case, the State Government shall consult the NBA before issuing any such notification.

Any individual or entity seeking a patent or any other IPR involving biological resources or associated TK from within or outside India must approach the NBA. The applicant must submit the necessary application to the NBA before the grant of patent.

Yes, as per Section 23 (b) and (ba) of the Act, the SBBs/UTBCs are empowered to regulate activity of access to biological resources or its associated TK by Section 7 person entities for commercial utilisation by granting or rejecting approval. While granting approval, SBB/UTBCs shall determine the benefit sharing component payable by the applicant as per the provisions of the BD (ABS) Regulations, 2025 issued by the NBA.

• If the biological resources used by the company in India do not contain any Indian germplasm* (biological resource) in their development or multiplication or production or research, then it will not come within the ambit of the BD Act.
• If the biological resources handled, researched, developed, multiplied, produced, etc., contain any strain of an Indian germplasm (biological resource), then prior approval of the NBA is required under Section 3 of the Act, for the Section 3(2) entities.

• The Section 7 entities have to give prior intimation (approvals) to the concerned SBB for undertaking the above-mentioned activities.
   

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_{* Indian germplasm is any genetic material that originated in Indian territory or has been introduced and/or adapted to Indian agro-ecologies where they have developed distinctive properties}

No. If germplasms are accessed from international institutions under the Standard Material Transfer Agreements (SMTAs) in compliance with the provisions of the ITPGRFA, then such access is exempted from the provisions of Sections 3 and 4 of the BD Act as per the MoEFCC notification no S.O. 3232(E)., dated 17.12.2014. However, such germplasm/accession belonging to the crop has to be notified by the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Government of India, from amongst the crops listed in Annex-1 of the ITPGRFA.

No. Access to biological resources that are associated with codified traditional knowledge is not exempted.

According to Section 21 of the Act, the determination of fair and equitable benefit sharing arising out of the utilisation of accessed biological resources, their derivatives, innovations and practices associated with their use and applications and knowledge relating thereto, is done in accordance with the mutually agreed terms and conditions between the users and BMC represented by the NBA.

The monetary benefits shall be paid to the National Biodiversity Fund by the users. The NBA then distributes the benefit sharing components to the benefit claimers, which may include individuals, groups of individuals or organisations.

After merger or demerger in the company requires proper intimation to the NBA / SBB is required within 90 days from the completion of that event, from an authorized person of the company who obtained approval from the NBA/SBB. NBA shall decide whether this Agreement shall be amended or a fresh approval is required. The NBA’s decision in this regard shall be final.

Reporting a new species or genus is not a regulated activity under the provisions of the BD Act. However, prior intimation shall be provided to the designated repository in India.

Section 37 (1) of the Act provides that based on the recommendations of the SBB, the State Government may, from time to time, notify in the Official Gazette, areas of biodiversity importance as Biodiversity Heritage Sites under this Act. Further, the SBB shall consult the local body and BMC concerned before making such recommendations. The State Government, in consultation with the Central Government, may frame rules for the management and conservation of all the biodiversity heritage sites as per Section 37(2) of the Act.

No, permission is required for the biological resources notified as NTACs if they are utilized in IPR as per Section 40.

Digital Sequence Information (DSI) refers to data of genetic information from biological resources, including DNA, RNA, and protein sequences, and other related molecular data.

If the applicant is covered under Section 7 of the Act and the applicant intends to access the biological resources from more than one state, prior intimation to all such State Biodiversity Boards shall be given by the applicant for obtaining approval as required under Section 7 of the Act.

To facilitate the process, an online single window system is being developed by the NBA for facilitating the filing of ABS applications with SBB.

The total amount of the accrued benefits shall be shared with the Boards or Councils concerned, proportionately, on a case-by-case basis as per Regulation 11 of the ABS Regulations 2025.

Molecular marker-aided breeding/selection cannot be considered as conventional breeding. Conventional breeding generally refers to traditional methods such as selection, hybridization, and back-crossing based on observable traits. In contrast, molecular marker-based selection involves the use of molecular tools and genetic markers to identify and select desirable traits at the DNA level, and therefore falls outside the scope of conventional breeding.

As per Section 36 of the BD Act, 2002, the Central Government (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change) shall develop national plans for the conservation, promotion and sustainable use of biological resources. The State Government shall develop state plans for the conservation, promotion and sustainable use of the biological diversity in conformity with the national strategies, plans and programmes, as per Section 36B of the amended BD Act.

In October, 2024, India’s updated national biodiversity strategy and action plan was prepared in alignment with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. India released the same in the side event of the COP-16 meeting at Cali, Colombia.

Yes, as defined under Section 2(c) of the Act, biological resources include ‘derivatives’. Section 2(fa) defines “derivative” as a naturally occurring biochemical compound or metabolism of biological resources, even if it does not contain functional units of heredity. Therefore, access to derivatives for undertaking the activities in the Act requires prior approval.

utilising the benefit-sharing amount received by the NBA?
As per Section 27(2) of the Act, the benefit sharing amount realized by the NBA shall be utilised for the following purposes:

1. channelling benefits to the benefit claimers;
2. conservation, promotion and sustainable use of biological resources;
3. Socio-economic development of areas from where such biological resources or TK associated thereto have been accessed in consultation with the BMC. When it is not possible to identify the area from where the biological resources or TK associated thereto have been accessed, the fund shall be utilised for socio-economic development of the area where such biological resources occur; and
4. For any other activities to meet the purposes of the Act.

The applicant shall be liable to pay up to 5.0% of the monetary benefit received from the transferee, as a benefit-sharing amount, as determined by the NBA on a case-by-case basis.

Yes, the BD Act, 2002 has been amended twice as given below:

1. A new provision Section 52A, was inserted with an enactment of National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 which came into force on October 18, 2010. The appellate jurisdiction under the relevant provisions of the Act has been transferred from the High Court to the National Green Tribunal.
2. The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023 (No. 10 of 2023) published in the Gazette of India, Ext., Pt. II, S.1, vide notification no. CG-DL-E-03082023-247815 dated August 03, 2023. Subsequently, the first corrigendum was issued on 09-08-2023 and second corrigendum was issued on 29-02-2024.

The application forms for getting specific permissions are available on the ABS e-filing portal. After receiving the application complete in all aspects, the NBA will examine and verify the information. If the application is found in order, the Competent Authority shall grant necessary approval.