UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Seeds Bill aimed at protecting rights of farmers, says Minister

Q1. In the context of India's seed sector, the 'SATHI' Portal, mandatory onboarding for which is proposed under the Draft Seeds Bill, 2025, stands for:

  • A. Seed Authentication, Traceability and Holistic Inventory
  • B. Seed Allocation, Testing and Hybrid Initiative
  • C. Seed Approval, Tracking and Harvest Information
  • D. Seed Assurance, Trade and Horticultural Indexing

Q2. Under the Draft Seeds Bill, 2025, which one of the following is proposed as the apex body to advise the Central and State Governments on standards for seed registration, certification and testing?

  • A. Central Seed Certification Board
  • B. Central Seed Committee
  • C. Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority
  • D. National Seeds Corporation

Q3. Under the Draft Seeds Bill, 2025, what is the maximum monetary penalty proposed for major violations such as the sale of spurious or unregistered seeds?

  • A. ₹10 lakh
  • B. ₹30 lakh
  • C. ₹50 lakh
  • D. ₹1 crore

Q4. With reference to the Draft Seeds Bill, 2025 vis-à-vis the Seeds Act, 1966, consider the following statements: 1. The maximum monetary penalty proposed under the 2025 Bill is significantly higher than the maximum penalty under the 1966 Act. 2. The 2025 Bill mandates QR-code based traceability on every seed packet through a Centralised Seed Traceability Portal, which had no parallel in the 1966 Act. 3. The 2025 Bill, unlike the 1966 Act, entirely withdraws the right of farmers to save and exchange farm-saved seeds. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The maximum monetary penalty proposed under the 2025 Bill is significantly higher than the maximum penalty under the 1966 Act.
  2. The 2025 Bill mandates QR-code based traceability on every seed packet through a Centralised Seed Traceability Portal, which had no parallel in the 1966 Act.
  3. The 2025 Bill, unlike the 1966 Act, entirely withdraws the right of farmers to save and exchange farm-saved seeds.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3