Explained: What Draft Seeds Bill means for farmers and seed sector

The Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) has published the preparatory Seeds Bill, 2025, and is now open to receiving feedback and input from various parties as well as from the public.

The proposed legislation in the draft aims at securing and supplying to the farmers high-quality seeds, preserving their rights, and making agriculture a more friendly business sector.

Key objectives of the Seeds Bill, 2025

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The proposed Seeds Bill, 2025 intends to control and monitor the quality of seeds and planting materials in the market and thus facilitate the farmers' access to real, high-yielding seeds at low prices.

In addition, it is intended to restrict the distribution of fake and low-quality seeds, which are very often the cause of crop failures and subsequently the farmers' losses.

The Seeds Bill proposes to liberalise seed imports, encouraging innovation and the introduction of global seed varieties in India.

This regulation is an assurance for the producers' interests and at the same time it opens the door for the seed sector to grow and be competitive by promoting transparency, accountability and protecting the farmers.

Focus on ease of doing business

To take down the compliance burdens, the draft Bill proposes decriminalisation of minor offences, making a big move in the direction of business facilitation.

However, it still has heavy fines for major breaches, and this indeed helps to keep up the quality of the product and ensure safety to the farm workers.

When the Seeds Bill of 2025 comes into force, it will replace the Seeds Act of 1966 and the Seeds (Control) Order of 1983, thereby updating the legal framework for the agriculture ecosystem according to the present needs.

Feedback and consultation process

All stakeholders and members of the public are invited to submit their comments and suggestions on the draft Bill and its provisions.

Feedback may be sent by email to jsseeds-agri[at]gov[dot]in

Submissions can be made in MS Word or PDF format as early as possible, no later than December 11, 2025.

Boosting seed quality and access

Reaffirming the government’s commitment to improved seed availability, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan recently inaugurated a state-of-the-art vegetable and flower seed processing and packaging unit of the National Seeds Corporation (NSC) at the Pusa Institute in New Delhi, IANS reported.

He also launched the ‘Seed Management 2.0’ system and an online seed booking platform that allows farmers to book seeds directly, ensuring greater transparency and accessibility. The Ministry said these initiatives will help small and marginal farmers access quality seeds, enhance productivity, and improve their incomes.