National Biodiversity Authority Crosses ₹200-Crore ABS Milestone

The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) of India crossed a cumulative Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) disbursement of ₹200 crore on 5 September 2026. The NBA functions under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and implements ABS payments linked to the use of biological resources.

Access and Benefit-Sharing under the Biological Diversity Act

Access and Benefit-Sharing is a mechanism under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, for sharing monetary and non-monetary benefits arising from the use of biological resources and associated traditional knowledge. The NBA is the national-level authority for ABS matters, while State Biodiversity Boards and Biodiversity Management Committees operate at the state and local levels.

Fresh Disbursement to States and Union Territories

On 5 September 2026, the NBA sanctioned ₹8.23 crore to 27 State Biodiversity Boards and 5 Union Territory Biodiversity Councils. The amount was realised from commercial seed companies, including Nunhems India Pvt. Ltd., East West Seeds India Pvt. Ltd., and Bayer Science and Innovation Pvt. Ltd., for the research and commercial use of bitter gourd, okra, chilli, and onion.

Because the biological resources were sourced from open markets and could not be traced to specific communities, the NBA allocated the proceeds on the basis of crop cultivation area data published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Madhya Pradesh received ₹1.17 crore, and Maharashtra received ₹1.01 crore in this round.

State-wise Allocation Pattern

Andhra Pradesh received ₹75.55 lakh, Karnataka received ₹65.23 lakh, Gujarat received ₹64.06 lakh, and Odisha received ₹57.63 lakh. The remaining states and Union Territories shared ₹1.83 crore in the same disbursement cycle.

Important Facts for Exams

• The National Biodiversity Authority was established under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
• Access and Benefit-Sharing is linked to the use of biological resources and associated traditional knowledge.
• State Biodiversity Boards function at the state level, and Biodiversity Management Committees function at the local body level.
• Onion is a major crop in Maharashtra, which held more than 49% of India’s total onion cultivation area in this case.

Recent ABS Disbursement Context

On 30 August 2026, the NBA disbursed ₹5.68 crore from okra, cucumber, and watermelon resources. That release took the cumulative ABS total to over ₹191 crore before the later ₹8.23 crore sanction.