RAS question
A key feature of the Draft Seeds Bill 2025 includes:
Correct answer: (B) Mandatory QR codes on seed packets for traceability.
The Draft Seeds Bill, 2025 makes QR codes on seed containers mandatory. The codes are generated through the Central Government's Centralized Seed Traceability Portal to support traceability.
Explanation
The Draft Seeds Bill, 2025 links seed regulation to traceability. It requires a seed container to bear a Quick Response Code or another mark generated through the Central Government's Centralized Seed Traceability Portal. That is why mandatory QR codes on seed packets are the correct feature. The draft does not take away a farmer's right to grow, sow, re-sow, save, use, exchange, share or sell farm seed of a registered kind or variety. This protection does not apply when the seed or planting material is sold under a brand name. The draft also retains graded penalties: minor offences can attract penalties up to Rs 2 lakh, while major offences can attract penalties up to Rs 30 lakh; supplying spurious seed is listed as a major offence.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The draft expressly preserves a farmer's right to grow, sow, re-sow, save, use, exchange, share or sell farm seed of a registered kind or variety, except when the seed or planting material is sold under a brand name.
- (C) The draft regulates seed quality and traceability through requirements such as registration, labelling and QR codes; it does not completely deregulate seed markets.
- (D) The draft retains graded penalties, and supplying spurious seed is treated as a major offence rather than being exempted from punishment.
Concept
This item examines agricultural-market regulation in the Indian Economy, especially how the draft balances seed quality, farmers' rights and traceability. Such Bills recur in RAS because they directly connect farming, market oversight and farmers' interests through portals and graded penalty frameworks.