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The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, has notified the Biodiversity Benefit Sharing Regulations, 2025 to regulate fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of India’s rich biological resources, including digital sequence information (DSI). This move strengthens India’s compliance with global Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) frameworks under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Background and Need

India’s vast biodiversity is a vital national asset, deeply linked with traditional knowledge of local and indigenous communities. The updated regulations address concerns that industries and researchers benefit commercially from biological resources without adequately compensating custodians of biodiversity or associated knowledge. The 2025 regulations supersede the 2014 guidelines and incorporate digital sequence information, a significant addition in the biotechnology era, where genetic information is often used without accessing physical resources.

Key Provisions of the Regulations

• Turnover-Based Benefit Sharing Slabs:The regulations introduce slabs based on the annual turnover of users accessing biological resources or associated knowledge:
  • ?0–5 crore: No benefit sharing
  • ?5–50 crore: 0.2% of ex-factory turnover
  • ?50–250 crore: 0.4%
  • Above ?250 crore: 0.6%
• Mandatory Reporting:All users with annual turnover exceeding ?1 crore must submit an annual statement detailing biodiversity resource usage.
• Exemption for Cultivated Medicinal Plants:In alignment with the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023, cultivators of medicinal plants, and Indian traditional medicine practitioners are exempt from benefit sharing. This supports promotion of medicinal plant cultivation while balancing conservation.
• High-Value and Threatened Species Clause:For species with significant conservation or economic importance — such as red sanders, sandalwood, agarwood, and other notified threatened species — minimum benefit sharing is set at 5%, which can rise above 20% for commercial exploitation.
• Inclusion of Digital Sequence Information (DSI):Recognizing that genetic data can substitute physical biological samples, DSI has been brought under the ABS ambit, ensuring benefits from its use are also equitably shared.
• Researchers and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR):Those conducting research or applying for IPR based on Indian biodiversity must comply with benefit-sharing obligations.

Mechanism for Utilization of Benefits

The collected benefits are distributed such that approximately 10–15% is retained by the NBA to support biodiversity conservation efforts, while the remaining is transferred to claimant communities and biodiversity conservers who have preserved and nurtured these resources.

Institutional Role: National Biodiversity Authority (NBA)

Established in 2003 and headquartered in Chennai, the NBA implements the Biological Diversity Act. Its key functions include regulating access to biological resources, granting approvals to foreign and domestic entities, overseeing State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs), and advising the central government on biodiversity conservation policies. The NBA ensures compliance with international protocols like the Nagoya Protocol under the CBD, reinforcing India’s commitment to global biodiversity governance.

Global Context and International Compliance

At COP16 of the CBD held in Cali, Colombia (2024), member nations adopted a multilateral mechanism to ensure benefit sharing from the use of DSI. This is critical given the global usage of genetic resources by sectors such as pharmaceuticals, agriculture, cosmetics, and biotechnology. India’s updated regulations align with these international norms, demanding equitable compensation for communities that are custodians of biodiversity and traditional knowledge.

Conclusion

The Biodiversity Benefit Sharing Regulations 2025 mark a significant advancement in India’s biodiversity governance by closing regulatory gaps, especially around digital information and high-value species. The policy balances biodiversity conservation with sustainable use and incentivizes communities by ensuring fair economic returns, thereby promoting India’s leadership in global biodiversity stewardship.