Draft Seeds Bill 2025 - Key Provisions and Impact on India’s Seed Sector

(Image: DhruvStar Industry Insights | Original Artwork)

Draft Seeds Bill 2025: Key Provisions, Need, and What It Means for India’s Seed Sector

The Draft Seeds Bill 2025 India proposes a modern legal framework to regulate seed quality, protect farmers, and strengthen the country’s seed ecosystem. Once enacted, the law will replace the Seeds Act, 1966 and the Seeds (Control) Order, 1983. 

Seeds Bill 2025 introduces mandatory registration, digital traceability, graded penalties, and clearer safeguards for farmers. 

With the seeds market in India valued at nearly INR 40,000 crore, the new Bill aims to ensure a reliable, transparent system that meets the needs of contemporary agriculture.

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Why a New Seeds Law Was Needed

The original law covers only notified varieties and does not mandate registration. Several crops fall outside its scope, and penalties are outdated. As a result, substandard and spurious seeds have continued to surface. 

Between 2022 and 2025, authorities tested almost 6 lakh seed samples, of which 43,001 were found non-standard.

The farming landscape has also changed. Hybrid seeds, new traits, private-sector R&D and international trade now form a significant part of the seed ecosystem.

The Seeds Bill 2025 addresses these gaps and introduces a system aligned with today’s scientific and regulatory needs.

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India’s Seed Requirement and Market Overview

The Indian seed market is valued at USD 3 billion.

The Agriculture Ministry estimated India’s seed requirement for 2024-25 at 48.20 lakh tonnes, against an availability of 53.15 lakh tonnes. 

Over 3,000 new varieties have been released since 2014, most from public research institutions. 

This reflects both strong domestic demand and the need for tighter quality assurance under the Draft Seeds Bill 2025.

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Objectives of the Draft Seeds Bill 2025

The Draft Seeds Bill 2025 aims to:

• Ensure that seeds meet defined benchmarks for germination, purity and overall health so that farmers receive reliable planting material.
• Shield farmers from losses caused by spurious, misbranded and sub-standard seeds.
• Strengthen oversight by using digital traceability tools, including QR-based tracking.
• Encourage private innovation.
• Ease regulatory compliance for minor issues.
• Liberalise seed imports while maintaining strict quality checks.
• Uphold farmers’ traditional rights over farm-saved seeds.

(Image: DhruvStar Industry Insights | Original Artwork)

Key Provisions of the Seeds Bill 2025

1. Mandatory Registration of All Seed Varieties

• All seed varieties must be registered through VCU (Value for Cultivation and Use) trials before sale. 
• Notified varieties from the 1966 Act will be automatically recognised, while existing cultivated varieties will get a three-year provisional registration. 
• Registrations can be suspended or cancelled if a variety performs poorly or raises safety concerns.

2. Farmers’ Rights and Protections

• Farmers may keep, reuse, exchange and sell their own farm-saved seeds, as long as they are not sold under a brand name. They are exempt from penalties for such sales.
• The Bill also focuses on safeguarding farmers from financial losses caused by poor-quality seeds.

3. Quality Standards and Labelling

• The Centre will set minimum standards for germination, purity and seed health. 
• All seed packets must include proper labels and QR codes so farmers can verify authenticity and trace their source. 
• The sale of misbranded or spurious seeds will be prohibited.

4. Registration Across the Seed Value Chain

• Seed producers, processing units, dealers, distributors and plant nurseries must register with State Governments. 
• A central accreditation system will help multi-state companies operate under a single compliance framework.

5. Stronger Certification and Testing Infrastructure

• The Draft Seeds Bill 2025 India provides for state and accredited Seed Certification Agencies. 
• Central and State Seed Testing Laboratories will be strengthened.
• Seed Inspectors will have clear powers to sample, search, and seize.

6. Liberalised but Regulated Seed Imports

• Imports will need to meet Indian certification and quarantine standards.
• Unregistered varieties may be imported for trials or research purposes with prior approval.

7. Digital Traceability via the SATHI Portal

A central seed traceability platform will track every stage of the seed supply chain to improve transparency, limit fraud, and support evidence-based regulation.

8. Graded Penalties for Violations

• Minor offences will be decriminalised. 
• Penalties will include: a warning and small fines for trivial issues; up to INR 2 lakhs for minor offences; up to INR 30 lakh for major violations, and cancellation of registration and imprisonment in the most serious cases.
• Farmers remain exempt from penalties for selling farm-saved seed.

9. Price Regulation During Emergencies

The Central Government may regulate seed prices during periods of scarcity, hoarding or excessive pricing to protect farmers.

Draft Seeds Bill 2025: Challenges

• Limited Avenues for Farmer Compensation: Farmers may need to use formal legal channels to claim compensation for crop losses. This can be difficult for small and marginal farmers who lack access to dispute-resolution mechanisms.
• Compliance Load: Farmer collectives and community seed networks may face registration and digital reporting requirements similar to those of commercial entities, creating additional administrative pressure.
• Digital and Testing Readiness Gaps: Uniform VCU trials and QR-based traceability strengthen quality control but could be challenging for small producers with limited technical capacity or digital access.

DhruvStar Industry Insights: What it Means for Indian Agriculture

• Invest in High-Quality, Trial-Ready Varieties: Seed companies can accelerate the development of region-specific hybrids and strengthen VCU trial data to meet the registration requirements.
• Build Digital Traceability Systems: Industry players should pre-plan for QR-based tracking and integration with the national seed traceability portal, ensuring full compliance and building farmer trust.
• Expand Collaborative Research and Field Validation: Public institutes, agri-startups, and seed firms can plan to partner on germination, purity, and trait-stability research and development, once the new act comes into effect, to generate data and reduce performance-related issues under the new regulatory framework.

Sources

[1] PIB

[2] National Seed Association of India

Contact: dhruvstar.research@gmail.com