NBA Crosses ₹200 Crore in Access and Benefit-Sharing Payouts

The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has crossed a landmark in India's Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) framework. Its cumulative ABS disbursement has gone past ₹200 crore. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change announced this on 5 September 2026.

What was sanctioned this time

The NBA sanctioned ₹8.23 crore in fresh ABS proceeds. The money goes to 27 State Biodiversity Boards and 5 Union Territory Biodiversity Councils. It arises from the use of biological resources tied to four vegetable crops. These are bitter gourd (Momordica charantia), okra (Abelmoschus esculentus), chilli (Capsicum annuum) and onion (Allium cepa). The proceeds came from three seed companies that accessed these resources for research and commercial use.

Why States are paid instead of farmers

The resources were bought in the open market or through traders. No single farmer, community or place of origin could be traced. So the beneficiary share is spread among the boards and councils of the States and Union Territories where these crops are grown. The split follows the area under cultivation, as published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The method was recommended by an Expert Committee and approved by the Authority.

Who gets the most

Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are the largest cumulative recipients across the four crops. Madhya Pradesh is carried there by bitter gourd, chilli and onion. Maharashtra is carried there mainly by onion, since it holds more than 49 per cent of India's onion area.

How the money must be spent

The boards and councils must use the funds for activities listed under Section 32(2) of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. These include preparing and updating People's Biodiversity Registers, conservation of biological resources both in and outside their natural habitat, restoration of degraded ecosystems, strengthening Biodiversity Heritage Sites, building the capacity of Biodiversity Management Committees and improving community livelihoods.

The global link

The exercise feeds India's commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit-sharing. It also serves the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and in particular Target 13, which asks countries to ensure fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the use of genetic resources.