NBA releases ₹2.82 crore of ABS funds to 27 State Biodiversity Boards, 3 UT Biodiversity Councils and ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Karnataka

The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has released ₹2.82 crores under the Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) mechanism derived from the utilization of India's biological resources. This includes ₹2.80 crores disbursed to 27 State Biodiversity Boards and 3 Union Territory Biodiversity Councils based on the cultivation footprint of specific horticultural crop hybrids where original benefit claimers could not be individually traced. Additionally, ₹2.01 lakh was released to the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Karnataka, following commercial utilization of microbial strains. The funds are earmarked for conservation, documentation through People's Biodiversity Registers, and livelihood enhancement under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 framework.