UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Government notifies Two Key Institutions as Repositories under Biological Diversity Act, 2002

Q1. Under which one of the following sections of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 is the Central Government empowered to designate institutions as repositories for different categories of biological resources?

  • A. Section 36
  • B. Section 38
  • C. Section 39
  • D. Section 40

Q2. The April 2026 notification designating the 'Bhavasagara' Referral Centre and the Agharkar Research Institute collections as repositories under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 was issued by which one of the following Union ministries?

  • A. Ministry of Earth Sciences
  • B. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
  • C. Ministry of Science and Technology
  • D. Ministry of AYUSH

Q3. Which one of the following best describes the 'People's Biodiversity Register' under the framework of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002?

  • A. A document of comprehensive information on local biological resources and associated traditional knowledge, prepared by the Biodiversity Management Committee
  • B. A register of access-and-benefit-sharing approvals granted to foreign applicants, maintained by the National Biodiversity Authority
  • C. A list of threatened species notified for the state, maintained by the State Biodiversity Board
  • D. A catalogue of voucher specimens held by institutions designated as repositories under Section 39

Q4. India's First National Report on the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol, submitted to the CBD Secretariat in 2026, was prepared and submitted by which body acting as India's competent national authority for access and benefit-sharing?

  • A. Ministry of External Affairs
  • B. Botanical Survey of India
  • C. National Biodiversity Authority
  • D. Central Zoo Authority

Q5. The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023 decriminalised offences under the parent Act by replacing imprisonment with monetary penalties. These penalties are determined through inquiry by whom?

  • A. The National Green Tribunal
  • B. An adjudicating officer appointed by the Central Government
  • C. The Chairperson of the National Biodiversity Authority
  • D. The District Magistrate concerned

Q6. The 'Bhavasagara' Referral Centre at CMLRE, notified as a repository in 2026, maintains over how many taxonomically identified, geo-referenced voucher specimens of deep-sea fauna?

  • A. Over 500
  • B. Over 1,500
  • C. Over 3,500
  • D. Over 10,000

Q7. In the context of taxonomy and repositories under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, a 'voucher specimen' is best defined as which one of the following?

  • A. A representative preserved specimen deposited to document and permit future verification of the identity of an organism recorded in a study
  • B. A live microbial culture maintained solely for commercial bioprospecting and industrial licensing
  • C. A digital DNA-barcode sequence uploaded to an online biodiversity database
  • D. A legal certificate confirming that benefit-sharing dues for a bioresource have been paid

Q8. The patent granted on the wound-healing properties of turmeric — successfully challenged by India and revoked in 1997 in a landmark case on traditional knowledge — had been granted by which one of the following patent offices?

  • A. The United States Patent and Trademark Office
  • B. The European Patent Office
  • C. The Indian Patent Office
  • D. The World Intellectual Property Organization