Why in the News?

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has released the Draft Seeds Bill, 2025 for public consultation before its introduction in Parliament.

Precursor to the Draft Seeds Bill, 2025:

Seeds Act, 1966: Regulated seed production, certification, sale, and import/export through central and state seed committees and certification agencies.
Seeds (Control) Order, 1983: Added licensing requirements for dealers and expanded oversight of notified seeds.
Why Reform? Old laws could not address modern hybrids, biotechnology, private R&D, global seed trade, or digital traceability – creating the need for an updated, technology-ready statute.

About the Draft Seeds Bill, 2025:

Objective: Ensure farmers get affordable, high-quality seeds while improving transparency and ease of doing business in the seed value chain.
Purpose: Replaces the Seeds Act, 1966 and Seeds (Control) Order, 1983 to regulate seed quality, curb spurious seeds, strengthen traceability, and modernise India’s seed sector.
Scope: Covers seed production, registration, import, sale, quality control, penalties, farmer rights, and digital monitoring.

Key Provisions of the Draft Bill:

Farmer Rights: Farmers may grow, sow, save, use, exchange, share, or sell seeds of any registered variety from their own holdings, except when sold under a brand name.
Mandatory Registration of Varieties: All seed varieties meant for commercial sale must be registered (export-only and farmers’ own-use varieties exempt).
Registration of Seed Businesses: Producers (non-farmers), processing units, dealers, distributors, and nurseries must register with the designated authority.
Digital Traceability: Introduces a Central Seed Traceability Portal; seed packets must carry QR codes to monitor provenance and quality.
Graded Penalties: Trivial-to-major offences defined. Minor offences may get warnings; moderate offences attract fines up to ₹2 lakh; major offences (spurious/unregistered seeds) attract fines up to ₹30 lakh and/or imprisonment up to 3 years.
Seed Testing & Enforcement: Central and state seed labs can be established/recognised. Inspectors may sample, seize, inspect premises, and verify records.
Import Regulation: Imported seeds must meet germination and purity standards; trial and research imports require permits.
Ease of Doing Business: Minor offences decriminalised; compliance simplified while retaining strict penalties for serious violations.

Key Differences: Seeds Act 1966 vs Draft Seeds Bill 2025

	Seeds Act, 1966 / Seeds (Control) Order, 1983	Draft Seeds Bill, 2025
Farmer Rights	Implicit, not clearly articulated	Explicit protection to save, use, exchange, share, sell non-branded seeds
Variety Registration	Only notified varieties regulated	Mandatory registration for all commercial varieties
Business Registration	Focus on producers/dealers	Mandatory for producers, processors, dealers, distributors, nurseries
Traceability	No digital tracking provisions	QR-based seed traceability via Central Seed Portal
Penalties	Limited, less structured	Graded penalties; major offences up to ₹30 lakh + imprisonment
Imports	Narrow regulation; limited trial mechanisms	Structured system for import, research, and trial evaluations
Ease of Doing Business	More regulatory rigidity	Decriminalisation of minor offences and reduced compliance burden
Technological Fit	Pre-hybrid, pre-biotech era framework	Aligned with modern hybrids, biotech seeds, global seed trade