Question 1

Only naturally occurring wild medicinal plants are regulated by the Biological Diversity Act.

Accepted Answer

Cultivated medicinal plants also require Certificates of Origin and are heavily monitored by local BMCs, a process which is now fully digitalised via Forms 11, 11A, and 12.

Question 2

The Certificate of Origin for medicinal plants is issued by the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA).

Accepted Answer

The certification process is managed entirely at the local, grassroots level by Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) via a digital web portal.

Question 3

Consider the following statements regarding the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Rules, 2025:
1. The responsibility of maintaining the cultivation records of medicinal plants lies with the State Biodiversity Boards.
2. The rules introduced a mandatory escalation mechanism to the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) if the Certificate of Origin is delayed beyond 15 days.
3. Under the Biological Diversity framework, cultivated medicinal plants are exempted from Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) obligations provided they have a valid Certificate of Origin.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Accepted Answer

(a) Only one — Statement 1 is incorrect: The responsibility of maintaining digital cultivation records (Form 11) lies with the local Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs), not the State Biodiversity Boards. Statement 2 is incorrect: The 2025 Amendment specifically REMOVED the 15-day timeline and escalation routes because the certificate is now auto-generated digitally based on pre-existing records. Statement 3 is correct: The core of the 2023 Act and subsequent rules is to exempt cultivated plants from ABS to reduce pressure on wild flora, contingent on proving their cultivated origin. Thus, only one statement is correct.

Question 4

Match List I (Forms under Biological Diversity Rules, 2024/2025) with List II (Purpose):

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Accepted Answer

(a) A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3 — Under the amended Biological Diversity framework: Form 11 is the digital book/register maintained by the BMC (A-2). Form 11A is the application submitted by the grower with a Rs 200 fee (B-1). Form 12 is the final digitally generated, QR-coded Certificate of Origin (C-4). Form 1 is the standard application to the NBA seeking prior approval for access to biological resources for research or commercial use (D-3).

Question 5

Assertion (A): The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Rules, 2025 eliminated the 15-day timeline and escalation routes to the State Biodiversity Board for issuing Certificates of Origin.
Reason (R): The certificate generation process has been fully automated and is digitally generated based on pre-existing web-portal records maintained by the Biodiversity Management Committees.

Select the correct answer from the codes given below:

Accepted Answer

(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A. — Prior to the 2025 Amendment, if a BMC failed to issue a certificate within 15 days, applicants could escalate the issue to higher bodies. The 2025 Amendment removed this because the BMC is now required to proactively maintain cultivation data (Form 11). When a grower applies (Form 11A), the system cross-checks this data and auto-generates the certificate (Form 12) instantly. Therefore, the automation (Reason) is the exact cause for eliminating the timeline and escalation routes (Assertion).

Biological Diversity (Amendment) Rules, 2025 Notified

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