Annual Report 2013-14
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Annual Report 2013-14 Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority Department of Agriculture & Co-operation Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India NASC Complex, DPS Marg, New Delhi-110012 www.plantauthority.gov.in Contents Foreword v Acknowledgement vii Executive Summary ix 1 General Background 1 2 Progress of Plant Varieties Registry 5 3 Activities Related to Farmers’ Rights 35 4 Development of DUS Test Guidelines 49 5 Plant Variety Journal of India, National Register of Plant Varieties and Publications of the Authority 67 6 Development of Databases, IINDUS, NORV and Website 69 7 Legal Cell and RTI matters 73 8 Training–cum–awareness Programmes 75 9 General Activities of the Authority 97 10 International Co-operation 113 11 Financial Statements of the Authority 2013-14 117 12 Citizen’s Charter 121 Annexures I Members of PPV & FR Authority (As on 31 March, 2014) 123 II Sanctioned posts of the Authority 124 III Details of Human Resources (Headquarters & Branch offices) 125 IV Statement showing funds released to Existing DUS Centres during 2013-14 126 V Statement showing funds released to New DUS Centres/ Projects during 2013-14 and Referral Laboratory during 2013-14 128 VI Statement showing funds released to Field Gene Bank(s) during 2013-14 131 VII Financial support to different Organizations for training–cum–awareness programmes during the 2013-14 132 VIII Crop wise and Zone wise applications of Farmers’ Varieties 137 IX Plant Variety Forms 139 X Crops with Genus and species under Registration 141 XI Certificates of Registration issued by the Authority during 2013-14 143 XII Acronyms 158 Dr. R.R. Hanchinal Chairperson Protection of Plant Varieties & Farmers’ Rights Authority, New Delhi Foreword It gives me pleasure to present the Annual Report of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR) Authority for the year 2013-14. India is among the first few countries of the world to enact the PPV&FR Act on the sui-generis system . The Act has been designed as per national requirements and our international obligations to the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) of the World Trade Organization and our commitments to the spirit of International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA). Acting as per its mandate, the Authority has developed a framework for an effective system for protection of plant varieties, the rights of farmers, researchers and plant breeders and encourage the development of new varieties of plants. The Authority has created systems and processes for protection of different categories of plant varieties, and has established Plant Varieties Registry, National Gene Bank, Field Gene Banks, DUS testing centres and created databases of extant varieties, Varieties of Common Knowledge (VCK) and registered varieties. It publishes the Plant Variety Journal of India and created a Farmers’ Cell to provide necessary assistance to farmers in the registration of their varieties and conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources. A Legal Cell assists plant varieties registry and defends the interest of the Authority in court cases to meet its objectives and goals. The Authority has expanded its basket for registration of varieties from 59 to 79 notified crops / species as compared to previous year. A set of nine crops consisting of citrus fruits (3), flowers (2), banana, musk melon, water melon and tea have been submitted to DAC for notification. The Authority has conferred the coveted ‘Plant Genome Saviour Community Awards 2011-12, Farmers’ Rewards & Recognitions’ from the National Gene Fund to recognize the contributions of the farming communities in the conservation of agro-biodiversity hotspots. On the eve of International Day of Biological Diversity i.e. (22 May, 2013), the Authority organized the 5th Plant Genome Saviour Community Awards ceremony at New Delhi. Shri Tariq Anwar, Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Food Processing Industries (FPI) conferred the Plant Genome Saviour Community Awards, Rewards and Recognitions to the farming communities and farmers for their dedicated and untiring efforts in the conservation, management and improvement of plant genetic resources. The Authority has facililated and conducted trainings-cum-awareness programmes by providing financial support to various institutions / NGOs across the country. A special drive on awareness was undertaken in agro-biodiversity hotspot Annual Report 2013-14 æ v areas. The Authority also participated in the Kisan Mela, Kisan Utsav at various places including IARI, New Delhi; GBPUA&T, Pantnagar; CICR, Nagpur; India International Trade Fair (IITF), New Delhi for showcasing the activities of the Authority through mass media modules. The Authority provided its expert comments on proposals relating to bilateral co-operation in agriculture and allied areas from various countries with India received from DAC. During the reporting year, foreign delegations visited the Authority and an Indian delegation participated in the 5th Governing Body meeting of the ITPGRFA at Muscat, Oman on 22-28 September, 2013. The Indian delegation also participated in a UPOV seminar in Sri Lanka on 25-26 November, 2013 and visited CIMMYT, Mexico from 22–28 March, 2014 on the invitation from Borlaug Rust Initiative. The Chairperson, PPV&FRA was the key member in all the above delegations. I feel privileged in placing on record the guidance and motivation provided by the Shri Sharad Pawar, Union Minister of Agriculture and Food Processing Industries for the progress and development of the Authority. I also acknowledge the keen interest shown by Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries, Shri Tariq Anwar. I am also equally indebted to Shri Ashish Bahuguna, Secretary, DAC and Dr. S. Ayyappan, Secretary, DARE & Director General, ICAR for their leadership and constant support. I express my sincere gratitude to Shri Avinash Kumar Srivastava, Additional Secretary, DAC & Shri Atanu Purkayastha, Joint Secretary (Seeds) for their keen interest and valuable support extended to the Authority. I gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the members of the Authority and other experts who served various Committees, Task Forces with dedication and helped the Authority in achieving its targets. I am profoundly grateful to former Chairpersons of PPV&FRA for their catalytic role, farsightedness, leadership and continuous support in the progressive development of the Authority during respective tenures. I am also thankful to Nodal Officers of the DUS Centres of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), State Agricultural Universities (SAUs), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Indian Council of Forest Research and Education (ICFRE) for providing services and support to Authority in respective areas. I wish to convey my thanks to the officers of the DAC, Ministry of Agriculture, ICAR, ICFRE, CSIR, Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Environment and Forests for providing their technical expertise and contributions. I am also thankful to Directors, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi & National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), New Delhi and their Regional Centres for shouldering various responsibilities assigned by the Authority. I acknowledge with thanks the services of our esteemed bankers i.e. State Bank of India and Syndicate Bank for their financial services and support. I am highly grateful to the CAG for their timely advice on financial matters. I appreciate and compliment the editorial team for the timely compilation and publication of the Annual Report. A word of appreciations goes to Shri D.S. Mishra, Joint Registrar and his team for an effective coordination and bringing out the report on time. (R.R. Hanchinal) vi æ Protection of Plant Varieties & Farmers’ Rights Authority Acknowledgement I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. R.R. Hanchinal, Chairperson, PPV&FR Authority for his valuable support, motivation and enthusiasm and comprehensive views in the preparation of the Annual Report 2013-14 of the Authority. I am profoundly thankful to Dr. P.L. Gautam, former Chairperson and Dr. S.K. Datta, DDG (Crop Sciences), ICAR cum acting Chairperson of the PPV&FR Authority (w.e.f. 19 December, 2012) onwards for their valuable co-operation, guidance and support. I owe my special words of appreciation to Shri D.S. Mishra, Joint Registrar for his sincere efforts in writing, compiling and synthesizing manuscript continuously for the last three years. My appreciation is also due to Shri Dipal Roy Choudhury, Joint Registrar for his critical comments and valuable suggestions in shaping the Annual Report. I am also thankful to all Registrars Dr. Manoj Srivastava, Dr. Tejbir Singh and Dr. Ravi Prakash for providing necessary inputs to improve the contents. I am equally grateful for the inputs provided by Dr A. C. Sharma and Shri Umakant Dubey, Deputy Registrars, Guwahati and Ranchi; Shri D.S. Raj Ganesh and Shri Rabi Raman Pradhan, Legal Advisors Dr. D.S. Pilania, Technical Officer; Mrs. Shipra Mathur, Shri Shyam Narayan, Computer Assistants and other officers of the Registry in particular. I am also thankful to our Consultants Shri T.D. Tiwari and Shri Roshan Lal. My special words of thanks go to Shri Jatin Kumar, Office Assistant for giving the secretarial assistance in typing, formatting and designing this Annual Report in a time bound manner. The Authority is highly thankful to the support from the Department of Agriculture & Co-operation and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). We sincerely cherish the partnership that PPV&FR Authority has developed with DUS Centres / Projects at various institutes / centres of the ICAR, SAUs, CSIR & ICFRE for their co-operation and providing valuable inputs for the preparation of this Annual Report. (R.C. Agrawal) Registrar General Annual Report 2013-14 æ vii Executive Summary India is one of the members to the Agreement on Trade crops were received by the Authority for registration and Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) protection under the Act.