Kamal Ghorui
At a time when agriculture must simultaneously deliver higher productivity, climate resilience, and improved farmer incomes, seeds remain the single most powerful lever of transformation. With agriculture contributing nearly 18% to GDP and supporting over 45% of the workforce, the efficiency and responsiveness of the seed ecosystem directly shape outcomes across the farm economy. India’s seed sector is too critical to be slowed down by regulatory friction.
India is already the 5th largest seed market globally (valued at ~$3.5–4 billion), with a strong domestic industry, a diversified crop base, and growing export potential. Yet, its regulatory architecture continues to function like a legacy system – fragmented, inconsistent, and slow to respond to innovation.
The consequence is clear: delayed technologies, constrained investments, and avoidable inefficiencies that ripple across the agricultural value chain.
Recent reports by NITI Aayog on Ease of Doing Research & Development in India, along with the Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) EoDB analysis, present a compelling and convergent diagnosis. India’s innovation ecosystem continues to be constrained by regulatory complexity, administrative burden, weak research translation, and limited private sector participation. These are not abstract concerns – they translate into tangible delays, higher costs, and reduced competitiveness.
For example, despite operating under a comprehensive central legislative framework – comprising the Seeds Act, 1966, Seed Rules, 1968, and the Seed Control Order, 1983 – divergent interpretations of the requirements and implementation across states for obtaining a seed license has resulted in a fragmented compliance landscape. Companies operating across multiple geographies face duplicative licensing requirements, inconsistent inspection protocols, and varying enforcement standards. This not only increases the cost of doing business but also introduces uncertainty into planning and investment decisions.
The FSII EoDB report released in 2025 highlights that these inefficiencies disproportionately impact the time-to-market. For a sector, in which developing and commercialising a new variety can take 8–10 years, regulatory delays further extend already long gestation cycles, locking in capital and eroding returns.
The economic implications are significant. The systemic inefficiencies continue to hold back this potential. Industry assessments indicate that addressing key regulatory bottlenecks can unlock nearly ₹800 crore in annual efficiency gains, while catalysing a 13–15% increase in private R&D investment.
More importantly, such reforms can dramatically improve the speed at which farmers access better-performing, climate-resilient, and resource-efficient seed varieties. This is particularly critical in the context of climate change, which is projected to reduce yields of major crops by 4–9% by 2030 if adaptive technologies are not deployed at scale.
Reforms, therefore, are not merely about industry growth – they are central to national food security and resilience.
What would a meaningful ease-of-doing-business reset look like?
First, regulatory harmonisation across states must become a priority. A unified, digitally integrated regulatory system can eliminate duplication, standardise processes, and bring predictability to compliance. Such harmonisation does not dilute regulatory oversight; instead, it enhances transparency and efficiency, enabling faster decision-making without compromising quality.
India must establish time-bound, science-based approval mechanisms for biotech traits. Global competitors such as the United States, Brazil, and Argentina follow predictable approval timelines, typically within 18–30 months. In contrast, regulatory uncertainty in India has led to stalled pipelines and reduced investor confidence. In an era of increasing climatic stress, delayed access to traits such as drought tolerance and pest resistance represents a strategic vulnerability.
Draft Seed Bill 2025 must be expedited. The current legal framework, anchored in a law enacted in 1966, is no longer adequate for a dynamic, technology-driven sector. The Draft Seed Bill offers an opportunity to modernise regulatory processes, strengthen quality assurance, and improve traceability – critical elements for both domestic confidence and export competitiveness.
Fiscal incentives for R&D must be strengthened. Research focused Indian seed companies currently invest around 8-12% of their turnover in R&D. The earlier provision of a 200% weighted tax deduction on R&D expenditure played a catalytic role in encouraging private investment. Reinstating such incentives – particularly for high-risk, long-gestation research – can unlock substantial innovation capacity.
Further, intellectual property enforcement must be strengthened at the field level.
While India has a robust legal framework under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR) Act, enforcement gaps persist. In some crops, 15–20% of the market is estimated to be affected by illegal or spurious seeds, undermining farmer confidence and disincentivising innovation. Strengthening enforcement through coordinated institutional action, fast-track adjudication, and adoption of modern technologies such as DNA-based varietal identification is essential.
Alignment across overlapping legislations is long overdue. The seed sector operates at the intersection of multiple regulatory frameworks, including the Seeds Act, the National Biodiversity Act, and the PPV&FR Act. Overlaps and inconsistencies across these laws create compliance burdens and delays. Establishing clear inter-operability protocols, or moving towards a more unified framework, can significantly reduce friction.
Finally, the private sector must be recognised as a strategic partner in national agricultural priorities. Private sector accounts for over two thirds of India’s seed market and plays a central role in technology development and dissemination. Their structured inclusion in national missions – ranging from climate-resilient agriculture to seed export promotion – can enhance both scale and impact. Hence, institutional coordination must be formalised. A Joint Government–Industry Task Force, with clearly defined timelines and measurable outcomes, can ensure that reform efforts are implemented effectively. Such a mechanism can facilitate real-time problem-solving, improve inter-agency coordination, and enhance accountability.
The path forward is neither unclear nor untested. The evidence base exists. The policy recommendations are well-articulated. What is required now is execution.
India has the scientific capability, entrepreneurial depth, and market scale to emerge as a global leader in seeds. But this ambition cannot be realised within a regulatory framework that slows innovation and fragments markets.
Ease of doing business in the seed sector is not a narrow industry concern. It is a foundational requirement for agricultural transformation, farmer prosperity, and global competitiveness.
A decisive, coordinated reform push is no longer optional – it is imperative.
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