Section 16 in THE BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2023
16.Amendment of section 18.
In section 18 of the principal Act,—(a)for sub-sections (1) and (2), the following sub-sections shall be substituted, namely:—"(1) The National Biodiversity Authority shall, with the approval of the Central Government, make regulations to provide for access to biological resources and traditional knowledge associated thereto, and for determination of fair and equitable sharing of benefits.(2)It shall be the duty of the National Biodiversity Authority to regulate any activity referred to in sections 3, 4 and 6 by granting or rejecting approvals.";(b)in sub-section (3),—(i)in clause (a), for the word "equitable", the words "fair and equitable"shall be substituted;(ii)in clause (b), for the words "heritage sites", the words "biodiversity heritage sites" shall be substituted;(iii)after clause (b), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:—"(ba) advise the State Biodiversity Boards on any matter relating to the implementation of the Act;";(c)for sub-section (4), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:—"(4) The National Biodiversity Authority may, on behalf of the Central Government, take any measures necessary to oppose the grant of intellectual property rights in any country outside India on any biological resource which is found in or brought from India, including those deposited in repositories outside India, or traditional knowledge associated thereto accessed.".
