UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — NBA receives Rs 9.68 crore under Access and Benefit Sharing Framework during April–September 2026

Q1. With reference to the regulation of access to biological resources under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, as amended in 2023, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A company incorporated in India but foreign-controlled under the Companies Act, 2013 must obtain the approval of the National Biodiversity Authority to access such resources.
  2. An Indian entity with no foreign control that obtains a biological resource for commercial utilisation gives prior intimation to the State Biodiversity Board concerned rather than seeking prior approval of the National Biodiversity Authority.
  3. The State Biodiversity Board, and not the National Biodiversity Authority, approves access by a foreign national to a biological resource found only within that State.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q2. A country wants exporters to notify it in advance, and wants to assess the risks before it agrees to the first import of a genetically engineered seed meant for release into its fields. Which international instrument primarily provides for such a procedure?

  • A. Nagoya–Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress
  • B. Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the CBD
  • C. Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing to the CBD
  • D. Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework under the CBD

Q3. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, as amended in 2023, a user carrying out research on an Indian biological resource must share benefits in the same way as a user who exploits it commercially.
  2. Under the Nagoya Protocol, benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources may be monetary or non-monetary, such as the sharing of research results.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q4. Consider the following facts. Between April and September 2026, the National Biodiversity Authority realised ₹9.68 crore in Access and Benefit Sharing receipts. Of this, the agriculture (seed) sector contributed ₹7.16 crore and the AYUSH sector ₹0.21 crore. The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023 exempts users of codified traditional knowledge, AYUSH practitioners and cultivated medicinal plants from benefit sharing. Which of the following inferences can validly be drawn from the above?

  1. The low AYUSH contribution is consistent with statutory exemptions having narrowed the base of AYUSH-related benefit-sharing obligations.
  2. The figures establish that AYUSH firms are evading benefit-sharing obligations that apply to them.
  3. The figures show that use of medicinal plants by the AYUSH industry has declined since 2023.
  4. Receipts in this period depended more on access to crop genetic material than on medicine-related uses of traditional knowledge.
  • A. 3 and 4 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 4 only
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q5. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 as amended in 2023, an applicant can file a patent application for an invention based on an Indian biological resource without first securing the National Biodiversity Authority's clearance.
  2. The 2023 amendment moved the requirement of the National Biodiversity Authority's clearance for intellectual property rights from the stage of applying for them to the stage before their grant.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q6. The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023 decriminalised offences such as accessing biological resources without the required approval. As a result, how is such a violation now ordinarily dealt with?

  • A. Through cancellation of the user's registration by the National Biodiversity Authority as the sole sanction available
  • B. Through the State Biodiversity Board, which determines the penalty after hearing the Biodiversity Management Committee
  • C. Through a civil suit by the benefit claimers in a district court for recovery of damages from the user
  • D. Through an inquiry by a designated senior government officer, who determines and imposes a monetary penalty

Q7. With reference to benefit sharing from Digital Sequence Information (DSI) on genetic resources, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

  1. A benefit-sharing system built on a permit issued when a physical sample is accessed does not, by itself, reach a user who obtains the genetic sequence from an online database.
  2. At its sixteenth meeting, the Conference of the Parties to the CBD adopted modalities for a multilateral benefit-sharing mechanism for DSI that includes a global fund.
  3. Under the DSI mechanism adopted at COP16, each provider country negotiates mutually agreed terms bilaterally with each user of sequence data.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 3 only
  • D. 1 only