PPV&FRA Act, 2001: Plant Variety and Farmers’ Rights
Why in the news
The Act was noted as completing 25 years of backing plant breeding innovation while protecting farmers’ contribution to biodiversity.
Key facts
- India’s first sui generis plant variety and farmers’ rights law.
- Enacted 2001, agriculture ministry; operational since 2005.
Main provisions
| Provision | Content |
|---|---|
| Farmers’ rights (Section 39) | Save, sow, resow, exchange, share seeds; compensation if a variety underperforms |
| Breeders’ rights | Sole right to produce, sell or license |
| DUS test | Distinctness, Uniformity, Stability; 57 species notified |
| National Gene Fund | Benefit-sharing fees; funds in-situ conservation, rewards germplasm conservers |
| Researchers’ exemption | Registered varieties usable for experiments and breeding |
| Community knowledge | Recorded in the NRPV; remedies against biopiracy |
Exam angle
- Farmers’ rights: Section 39.