National Biodiversity Authority disburses Rs 2.02 crore of Access and Benefit-Sharing funds to State and Union Territory biodiversity boards
10 October 2026
The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) distributed ₹2.02 crore from the Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) fund, collected from the seed sector, for grassroots biodiversity conservation and community welfare.
The money went as shares to 27 State Biodiversity Boards and 3 Union Territory Biodiversity Councils.
The top ten States together received ₹1.43 crore, with Madhya Pradesh getting ₹23,81,072 and West Bengal ₹23,32,913.
Where the sources of biological resources could not be traced and individual beneficiaries could not be identified, shares were allocated by the cultivated area of the resource, using Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare statistics, on the advice of an expert committee.
Seven seed companies contributed, among them East West Seeds India, Syngenta India, Limagrain India and Nunhems India, for crops including rice, brinjal, cauliflower, chilli, tomato and okra.
With this release, the NBA's total ABS distributions reach ₹202 crore.
The framework rests on the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2024-2030.
The release noted that COP 17 of the Convention on Biological Diversity opens at Yerevan, Armenia on 19 October 2026.
In plain words
ABS Access and Benefit Sharing — The rule that users of a biological resource must share benefits with those who conserved or supplied it.
NBA National Biodiversity Authority — The statutory body under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, based at Chennai.
NBSAP National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan — India's plan of biodiversity targets, with the current edition running 2024-2030.