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Biodiversity benefit-sharing payouts cross ₹200 crore. Boards get ₹8.23 crore more.

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First brief 6 Sep, 1:51 am IST Updated 6 Sep, 1:51 am IST 1 development 2 min read Latest ↓

A bitter gourd growing on its vine, one of the crops whose seeds led to benefit-sharing payments — Photo: Salil Kumar Mukherjee / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Where it stands

The announcement is final. On 5 September 2026 the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change announced the milestone. The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has paid out more than ₹200 crore under Access and Benefit-Sharing. NBA has now sanctioned ₹8.23 crore for 27 State Biodiversity Boards and 5 Union Territory Biodiversity Councils. Three seed companies paid this money for using bitter gourd, okra, chilli and onion. The seeds came from the open market. No farmer or village could be traced. NBA therefore split the money by each crop's cultivated area. Madhya Pradesh gets ₹1.17 crore. Maharashtra gets ₹1.01 crore. The Boards must spend the money as Section 32(2) of the Biological Diversity Act 2002 directs.

Background

The Biological Diversity Act 2002 puts the Convention on Biological Diversity into Indian law. The Act built three tiers. The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) sits at the top. Each state sets up a State Biodiversity Board. Every local body must form a Biodiversity Management Committee. A business using Indian plants, animals or microbes must pay a share of the benefits. NBA collected ₹21.26 crore in 2025-26. The 2023 amendment replaced jail terms with money penalties from 1 April 2024. The amendment also freed registered AYUSH practitioners and codified traditional knowledge from prior notice to the Boards.

How it developed

5 September 2026, 6:33 pm IST

How it started
Environment Ministry says NBA benefit-sharing payouts have crossed ₹200 crore

On 5 September 2026 the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change announced the milestone. The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has paid out more than ₹200 crore under Access and Benefit-Sharing. In the latest round NBA sanctioned ₹8.23 crore for 27 State Biodiversity Boards and 5 Union Territory Biodiversity Councils. Three seed companies paid this money for using bitter gourd, okra, chilli and onion. The seeds came from the open market. No farmer or village could be traced as the source. NBA's expert committee therefore split the money by each crop's area, using Agriculture Ministry data. Madhya Pradesh gets ₹1.17 crore. Maharashtra gets ₹1.01 crore. Maharashtra has more than 49 per cent of India's onion area.

Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Akashvani News National Biodiversity Authority
5 September 2026, 9:39 pm IST

Settled
Milestone stands. The ₹8.23 crore now goes into the Boards' funds.

Akashvani carried the Ministry's figures on the evening of 5 September 2026. The three payers were Nunhems India, East West Seeds India and Bayer Science and Innovation. The ₹8.23 crore goes into each Board's State Biodiversity Fund. The 2023 amendment, in force from 1 April 2024, wrote benefit money into that fund. Boards must spend the money on People's Biodiversity Registers, conservation, Biodiversity Heritage Sites, committee training and livelihoods. On 30 May 2026 PIB had reported that NBA collected ₹266 crore in total.

Akashvani News Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry of Law and Justice, Gazette of India

Why it matters for UPSC

GS3 · Environment and biodiversityGS2 · Statutory bodiesPrelims · Biological Diversity Act 2002

For GS3, remember that NBA is a statutory body under the Biological Diversity Act 2002. Do not mix up the two protocols under the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Cartagena Protocol of 2000 covers biosafety of living modified organisms. The Nagoya Protocol of 2010 covers access and benefit-sharing. The ₹200 crore is money paid out, not money collected. NBA had collected ₹266 crore by 30 May 2026.

Key terms

Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS)ABS means a user of biological resources must share the gains with the providers. In India the National Biodiversity Authority or a State Board fixes the share. Example: three seed companies paid ₹8.23 crore for using bitter gourd, okra, chilli and onion. South Africa's rooibos tea firms pay the San and Khoi peoples 1.5 per cent of the farm price. The deal was signed in November 2019.

National Biodiversity Authority (NBA)NBA is the top body under the Biological Diversity Act 2002. The Central Government set up NBA in 2003 at Chennai. NBA approves use of Indian biological resources by foreign persons and companies. NBA also fixes the benefit share and passes the money down. Union Territories have Biodiversity Councils instead of Boards. The Councils received part of the new money.

Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) and People's Biodiversity Register (PBR)A BMC is the village or town level body under the Act. Every panchayat and municipal body must form one. Each BMC prepares a People's Biodiversity Register (PBR). The register lists local plants, animals, crop varieties, livestock breeds and the people's knowledge about them. A BMC can charge a fee from commercial collectors. NBA's website listed 2,76,664 BMCs and 2,72,648 registers in September 2026.

Biodiversity Heritage SiteA Biodiversity Heritage Site is an area of special biodiversity value. A State Government notifies the site under Section 37 of the Act after consulting local bodies. The state must compensate people hurt by the notification. NBA's website listed 57 such sites in September 2026. Strengthening these sites is one approved use of the new money.

Nagoya ProtocolThe Nagoya Protocol is the benefit-sharing treaty under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The CBD opened for signature at the Rio Earth Summit on 5 June 1992. Countries adopted the Protocol at Nagoya, Japan on 29 October 2010. The Protocol came into force on 12 October 2014. The Union Cabinet cleared India's ratification on 4 October 2012. India hosted the CBD's eleventh meeting at Hyderabad in October 2012.

Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity FrameworkThe Framework is the global plan for nature to 2030. CBD members adopted the Framework at Montreal in December 2022. The Framework has 4 goals for 2050 and 23 targets for 2030. Target 3 asks countries to protect 30 per cent of land and sea by 2030. Target 13 asks for a large rise in shared benefits by 2030. The Ministry linked the ₹200 crore milestone to Target 13.

Sources (5)

Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change · official · National Biodiversity Authority Crosses ₹200-Crore Milestone in ABS Disbursement (5 September 2026)6 Sep, 2:45 am
Akashvani News · official · NBA achieves milestone with over ₹200 crore ABS disbursements (5 September 2026)6 Sep, 2:45 am
National Biodiversity Authority · official · National Biodiversity Authority: About Us and ABS status dashboard (September 2026)6 Sep, 2:45 am
Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change · official · National Biodiversity Authority Realises Rs. 21.26 Crore Through Access and Benefit Sharing Mechanism in FY 2025-26 (30 May 2026)6 Sep, 2:45 am
Ministry of Law and Justice, Gazette of India · official · The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023, No. 10 of 2023 (3 August 2023)6 Sep, 2:45 am