Govt targets to present Seeds Bill in Parl in Feb

New Delhi: The government is targeting to introduce the Seeds Bill 2025 in Parliament during the first phase of the Budget session in February, Agriculture Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi has said.

“We have received 9,000 applications with suggestions for the Seeds Bill 2025. We will process them and put a cabinet note. Our target is to first bring this bill in the first phase of the Budget session,” he said.

The ministry plans to table the Pesticides Management Bill 2020 after the Parliament recess, he added.

The Seeds Bill, which will replace the 1966 Seeds Act, has provisions of mandatory registration for seed varieties, dealers, and producers to ensure quality and traceability with modern standards like QR codes on packets. It seeks the establishment of central and state seed committees for oversight, while allowing farmers to save and exchange farm-saved seeds without registration.

Penalties for individual violations range from fines of Rs 1-30 lakh to imprisonment, graded by severity, with jail terms up to three years.

In case an offence is committed by a company, the person who is in charge of the company at the time the offence is committed, and is responsible for the conduct of the business, will face actions.

The deadline for public comments on the draft Seeds Bill, 2025, was December 11, 2024.