• ¨     National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) released ₹15.52 crore in Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) proceeds from mustard genetic resources on 13 August 2026.

    ¨     The funds were released under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

    ¨     The amount was collected from M/s Pioneer Overseas Corporation.

    ¨     The company used Indian biological resources to develop 10 commercial hybrid varieties of mustard (Brassica juncea).

    ¨     Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) is a legal mechanism under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

    ¨     It aims to share monetary and non-monetary benefits arising from the use of biological resources and associated traditional knowledge.

    ¨     The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) is the statutory national-level body responsible for regulating access to biological resources and approving benefit-sharing arrangements in India.

    ¨     Mustard belongs to the genus Brassica and is an important oilseed crop in India.

    ¨     In this case, the ABS proceeds arose from the use of Indian biological resources for developing 10 commercial hybrid mustard varieties.

    ¨     The parental lines used for developing these varieties were sourced from the open market.

    ¨     The NBA approved a mechanism for distributing the ABS proceeds among 26 State Biodiversity Boards and 3 Union Territory Biodiversity Councils.

    ¨     An Expert Committee framed the allocation rules because no single community source could be identified for the parental lines.

    ¨     The distribution was linked to the mustard cultivation area in different states.

    ¨     The cultivation-area data were provided by the ICAR-Indian Institute of Rapeseed-Mustard Research, Bharatpur, Rajasthan.