Draft Seeds Bill 2025 Introduced to Curb Spurious Seeds and Protect Farmer Rights

The Union government has released the Draft Seeds Bill 2025 , aimed at modernising India’s seed regulation framework and ensuring farmers receive quality, reliable and affordable seeds . The draft Bill—open for stakeholder feedback until 11 December 2025 —seeks to replace outdated laws governing one of the most crucial inputs in agriculture.

Replacing Decades-Old Seed Regulations

The Bill will replace the Seeds Act 1966 and the Seeds (Control) Order 1983 , updating them to match technological advances, international seed movement and modern farming requirements. It introduces a comprehensive regulatory system covering every stage from seed production to certification, sale, storage and import.

Quality Assurance and Farmer Rights

All seed dealers, nurseries, producers, distributors, processing units and certification agencies must register under the new framework. The Bill mandates scientific seed testing through central and state laboratories, along with proper labelling, QR codes, and transparent disclosure of variety and germination information.

Farmers retain full freedom to save, use, exchange and sell farm-saved seeds without registration , preserving traditional practices. Importantly, farmers will receive compensation if a registered seed fails to perform as claimed, creating accountability for seed companies.

Balanced Penalties to Streamline Compliance

The draft differentiates between trivial, minor and major offences.

• Trivial lapses : written notice, then ₹50,000 for repeated violation.

• Minor offences (misbranding, overcharging): ₹1 lakh, rising to ₹2 lakh.

• Major offences (spurious seeds, unregistered varieties, operating without registration): penalties escalate from ₹10 lakh to ₹30 lakh , along with cancellation or imprisonment up to 3 years for repeat offenders.

Strengthened Oversight and Innovation Pathways

The Bill empowers a Central Seed Committee , a Registration Sub-Committee and technical bodies to bolster scientific oversight. It also permits regulated seed imports , promotes innovation, ensures biosafety for GM seeds and introduces structured dispute-resolution mechanisms to protect farmers.

Exam Points

• Draft Seeds Bill 2025 replaces Seeds Act 1966 & Seeds (Control) Order 1983 .

• Stakeholder comments open until 11 December 2025 .

• Farmers retain right to save, use, exchange farm-saved seed.

• Penalties range from written warnings to ₹30 lakh + 3 years’ imprisonment .

• “Spurious seed” defined as failing genetic purity or not true to type.