Draft Seeds Bill, 2025

A modern, farmer-centric legislation proposed to regulate the seed ecosystem in India. It seeks to replace the Seeds Act, 1966 and Seeds (Control) Order, 1983, introducing a transparent, traceable, and accountable system for registration, certification, quality standards, and digital monitoring.

Objective:

• Ensure high-quality seeds with verified germination, purity, and health standards.
• Protect farmers from spurious, misbranded, or sub-standard seeds.
• Promote innovation and private R&D while reducing compliance burdens.
• Enable digital traceability and transparency through QR codes and a central seed traceability portal.

Background / Need:

• Existing seed laws are outdated, unable to accommodate hybrids, GM traits, private R&D, and global trade.
• Earlier reform attempts (e.g., 2004 Seeds Bill) did not materialize.
• Increasing focus on farmers’ rights, quality assurance, and digital monitoring.

Key Features of the Draft Seeds Bill, 2025

Mandatory Registration of Seed Varieties:

• No seed can be sold without registration based on Value for Cultivation and Use (VCU) trials.
• Existing varieties under the 1966 Act receive provisional registration for 3 years.
• Registration can be suspended or revoked for poor performance or safety concerns.

Farmers’ Rights Protected:

• Farmers retain the right to save, use, re-sow, exchange, and sell farm-saved seeds (except under a brand name).
• Exempt from penalties for selling their own farm seeds.

Quality Regulation & Standards:

• Central Government sets minimum standards for germination, purity, traits, and seed health.
• Mandatory labelling and QR codes ensure traceability.
• Misbranded or spurious seeds are prohibited.

Registration Across the Seed Chain:

• Seed producers, processing units, dealers, distributors, and nurseries must register with State Governments.
• Multi-state companies can be “deemed registered” via a Central Accreditation System.

Certification & Testing Ecosystem:

• Establishment of Seed Certification Agencies and Central & State Seed Testing Laboratories.
• Seed Inspectors and Analysts empowered for sampling, search, and seizure.

Liberalised Seed Imports:

• Imports must meet quarantine regulations and Indian minimum seed certification standards.
• Unregistered varieties allowed for research and trials with approval.

Digital Seed Traceability – SATHI Portal:

• Mandatory onboarding for all producers, dealers, and research bodies.
• Enables end-to-end tracking, transparency, and fraud minimisation.

Graded Penalty System:

• Trivial offences: warnings and small fines.
• Minor offences: penalties up to ₹2 lakh.
• Major offences: penalties up to ₹30 lakh, cancellation of registration, and imprisonment in extreme cases.
• Farmers are exempt from penalties for farm-saved seeds.

Price Regulation in Emergencies:

• Central Government may fix prices during scarcity, monopolistic pricing, or profiteering.