The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has released ₹8.22 crore to three research institutions and 33 State Biodiversity Boards and Union Territory Biodiversity Councils under the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) mechanism, marking one of the country's largest single disbursements linked to Indian rice varieties.
The amount was received from Pioneer Overseas Corporation, an international seed company, for using Indian rice (Oryza sativa) germplasm to develop and commercialise hybrid seeds. The disbursement is aimed at ensuring that benefits arising from the commercial use of India's biological resources are shared fairly with institutions and regions that have conserved them.
According to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, ₹2.47 crore has been allocated to research institutions that conserved and shared the rice varieties used by the company. The ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR), Hyderabad, received the largest share of ₹2.43 crore, while Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Uttarakhand, was allotted ₹3.26 lakh for the specific rice variety it contributed.
The remaining ₹5.75 crore has been distributed among 33 State Biodiversity Boards and Union Territory Biodiversity Councils based on the rice-growing area of each State and Union Territory, using data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare's Unified Portal for Agricultural Statistics.
Uttar Pradesh received the highest allocation of ₹73.26 lakh, followed by West Bengal with ₹64.95 lakh and Telangana with ₹50.60 lakh. Odisha received ₹48.09 lakh, Chhattisgarh ₹45.91 lakh and Punjab ₹37.15 lakh. Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Andhra Pradesh also figured among the top 10 beneficiaries. States and Union Territories with smaller rice-growing areas, including Sikkim and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, received proportionate allocations.
The research institutions will utilise the funds to strengthen germplasm conservation, maintain seed collections and support research and training programmes. The State Biodiversity Boards and Biodiversity Councils will use the funds for conservation initiatives such as protecting native crop diversity, restoring ecosystems, documenting traditional knowledge and supporting local farmers and knowledge holders.
The NBA said it has received nearly ₹83 crore in ABS payments from the agriculture and seed sector so far, while total ABS disbursements across all sectors have crossed ₹162 crore.
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