NEW DELHI, 25 December 2025: The Government of India has drafted the Seeds Bill, 2025 to modernise the country’s seed regulatory framework while safeguarding farmers’ rights and strengthening quality oversight across the seed value chain, according to a statement tabled in the Lok Sabha.
Prepared by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the proposed legislation seeks to align seed regulation with current agricultural and market requirements. The draft has been shaped after considering feedback raised over time by a wide range of stakeholders, including farmers’ organisations.
A key feature of the Bill is the explicit protection of farmers’ rights. Its provisions do not apply to farmers or farmer-developed varieties, including traditional and indigenous seeds. The Bill reaffirms farmers’ rights under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001, allowing them to grow, sow, save, exchange and sell farm-saved seeds. Additional safeguards for farmers, community seed growers and traditional seed systems continue to be provided under existing legislation, including the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
At the same time, the Seeds Bill, 2025 introduces a more structured regulatory regime for the commercial seed market. It proposes compulsory registration of all seed varieties sold in the market, along with mandatory registration of seed producers, seed processing units and dealers. Plant nurseries will also come under a registration framework, bringing greater traceability and accountability into the system.
To protect farmers during exceptional circumstances, the Bill includes provisions enabling regulation of seed sale prices in emergent situations. It also mandates compulsory labelling of seed performance parameters to improve transparency and informed decision-making by farmers. In addition, onboarding on the government’s SATHI portal has been made mandatory to streamline digital monitoring and compliance.
These measures are intended to ensure that seeds supplied to farmers meet nationally prescribed quality standards, while balancing regulatory oversight with farmer autonomy.
Currently, the draft Seeds Bill, 2025 is at the pre-legislative consultation stage and has been placed in the public domain to invite further inputs from stakeholders, including farmer organisations. The consultation process is expected to play a key role in refining the legislation before it is introduced in Parliament.
The details were shared by Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ramnath Thakur in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
