C O V E R S T O R Y
The Biological Diversity ( Amendment ) Bill , 2022
The bill amended the Biological Diversity Act of 2002 which was put in place to help India meet the objectives of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity ( CBD ), which in 1992 pointed out that countries have sovereign rights over their biological diversity .
The Biological Diversity ( Amendment ) Bill , 2022 was first introduced in the Parliament on December 16 , 2021 by Bhupender Yadav , Union minister for environment , forest and climate change . It was sent to a joint committee on December 20 , 2021 due to concerns that the amendments favoured industry and contradicted the spirit of CBD . The joint committee submitted its report in Parliament on August 2 , 2022 with the recommendation that the Bill may be
passed after minor changes . The bill was finally passed on the eighth day of the Lok Sabha on July 25 , 2023 without any objection amid din on other issues .
The major amendments encourage cultivation of medicinal plants ; encourage Indian system of medicine ; facilitate collaborative research and investments ; reduce the need of practitioners and companies making medicinal products for obtaining permission from National Biodiversity Authority .
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BioVoiceNews | August 2023