How does the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) help in protecting Indian agriculture?
- NBA checks the biopiracy and protects the indigenous and traditional genetic resources.
- NBA directly monitors and supervises the scientific research on genetic modification of crop .
- NBA directly monitors and supervises the scientific research on genetic modification of crop plants.
- Application for Intellectual Property Rights related to resources genetic/biological cannot be made without approval of the NBA.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Explanation
Statements 1 and 3 are correct
- NBA is an autonomous statutory body established under the provisions of BDA, 2002. It enjoys the power of a civil court. It is headquartered in Chennai.
- Objective of NBA: It combats biopiracy by regulating access to biological resources and associated traditional knowledge for research, commercial utilisation, and other purposes.
- Functions of NBA: The NBA establishes mechanisms to ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits from using biological resources and traditional knowledge.
- Approval of the NBA (regulator) is a must to carry out biodiversity-related activities
| Biological Activity | Requires Prior Approval | Exempted |
| Obtaining biological resources and associated knowledge for any use | All foreign nationals or organisations | Indian citizens/entities/local people (including AYUSH practitioners) |
| Transferring research results of biological resources to foreign nationals/organisations | Most Indian individuals/entities require approval from the NBA | Collaborative research projects and exchange of knowledge and resources (conducted according to the policy guidelines of the GoI) |
| Applying for Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) (in or outside India) for an invention based on research on an Indian biological resource | Everyone | None |
Statement 2 is incorrect
- This is incorrect because the responsibility for monitoring and supervising scientific research on the genetic modification of crop plants lies with the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and not with the National Biodiversity Authority.
