The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has teamed up with the National Informatics Centre (NIC), to launch online filing of applications for access and benefit sharing (ABS) of biological resources. This will enable NBA to adhere to stipulated timelines to process applications of Indian or foreign individuals and entities who wish to access biological resources and associated knowledge of local communities. 

 Under the Biological Diversity Act (2002), if Indian or foreign individuals and entities, such as registered companies, wish to access biological resources and associated knowledge to carry out various activities, prior approval of NBA, or the State Biodiversity Boards is a pre-requisite. 

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 Launching the online filing of ABS applications through video-conferencing from Chennai, Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave, emphasised that the meaning of good governance lies in making processes transparent. He hoped that e-governance will be made 100 per cent operational in the near future and all the processes of the Ministry will be made fully transparent. 

 Applications seeking such approval are to be made on the appropriate forms available online at www.nbaindia.org, an official communique said. His online process is user-friendly and has salient features such as editing, reviewing, printing, digital signature, online payment of fee. These features are expected to considerably reduce the processing time of applications.  

The primary factor to be ascertained before filing any application in NBA is to identify whether the applicant is dealing with a biological resource, as defined by the Biological Diversity Act. Applications are scrutinised at different levels, before the Authority decides to grant approval. Till date, over 1,600 applications have been received and 980 applications have been cleared. A total of 440 agreements have been signed by the NBA with the applicants, which is construed as an approval. In the past, a large number of applications could not be processed, as they lacked important information/documents needed for scrutiny.

NBA is a statutory body established under the provisions of the Biological Diversity Act and performs facilitative and advisory functions for the Union government on issues of conservation, sustainable use of biological resources and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of biological resources.

Environment Secretary Ajay Narayan Jha said digital technology must be accessed not only to promote ease of doing business, but also to facilitate transactions for the general public. Mr Jha hoped that NBA will put all the other processes in a digital format, so that the people who used these services are served in a better manner. 

 As part of Digital India policy, Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) will also accept online application, which will help in tracking applications and reducing delays.