UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — NBA Disburses Rs 2.02 Crore of ABS Funds from Seed Sector to Support Biodiversity Conservation and Community Well-Being at Grassroots Level

Q1. With reference to the institutional framework under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Act provides for a three-tier structure, with the National Biodiversity Authority at the national level, State Biodiversity Boards at the State level and Biodiversity Management Committees at the local body level.
  2. Access and benefit-sharing payments are collected from users by Biodiversity Management Committees, which remit them upward to the National Biodiversity Authority for allocation among States.
  3. An Indian entity proposing commercial utilisation of a biological resource is required to give prior intimation to the State Biodiversity Board instead of seeking approval from the National Biodiversity Authority.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q2. With reference to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources must be shared in monetary form, such as royalties or licence fees.
  2. It is a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity that gives effect to the Convention's objective of fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of genetic resources.
  3. It expects Parties to set out clear domestic rules and procedures for prior informed consent and mutually agreed terms.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q3. With reference to who settles benefit-sharing terms under India's biodiversity law, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Under the original Biological Diversity Act, 2002, benefit-sharing was to follow terms mutually agreed among the applicant, the local bodies concerned and the benefit claimers.
  2. Under the amended framework, benefit claimers negotiate terms directly with the user, and the Biodiversity Management Committee acts only as a witness.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 only
  • C. Both 1 and 2
  • D. Neither 1 nor 2

Q4. With reference to the Cali Fund under the Convention on Biological Diversity, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. It was established at the sixteenth Conference of the Parties to receive contributions from users who benefit from digital sequence information on genetic resources.
  2. Half of its resources are to go to the self-identified needs of indigenous peoples and local communities.
  3. The expected contribution is set as a share of the profits or revenue of firms that benefit from digital sequence information.
  4. A contribution is payable only after the firm obtains a bilateral permit from the specific country of origin of each sequence it uses.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1, 2, 3 and 4
  • C. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3 only

Q5. With reference to the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights (PPV&FR) Act, 2001 and the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Under the PPV&FR Act, a farmer may save, use, exchange and sell farm-saved seed of a protected variety, but may not sell it as branded seed.
  2. Registration under the PPV&FR Act confers intellectual property rights over plant varieties, whereas the Biological Diversity Act regulates access to biological resources and the sharing of benefits from their use.
  3. Farmers and farming communities who conserve landraces and wild relatives of economic plants can be rewarded under the PPV&FR framework without having bred a new variety.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q6. A company registered in India, whose controlling stake is held by a foreign parent, wants to use Indian seed germplasm to develop a commercial hybrid. Under the amended Biological Diversity framework, which of the following is correct?

  • A. It must obtain prior approval of the National Biodiversity Authority, because foreign control brings it within the category of foreign entities
  • B. It needs only to give prior intimation to the State Biodiversity Board, because registration in India makes it Indian despite foreign shareholding
  • C. It needs only the consent of the local Biodiversity Management Committee, which alone negotiates terms with foreign-owned users
  • D. It requires no permission, because seed of cultivated crops is exempt from access provisions whatever the user's foreign ownership