Government Launches Digital Portal for Issuance of Certificates of Origin for Cultivated Medicinal Plants

• National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has launched a digital portal (absefiling.nbaindia.in) for electronic issuance of Certificates of Origin for cultivated medicinal plants, enabling Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) exemptions.
• Operationalises a key provision of the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023, which exempts users of cultivated medicinal plants from benefit-sharing obligations subject to a certificate of origin.
• Relevant for GS-III (Environment, Biodiversity) and GS-II (statutory bodies, governance/e-gov).