Question : Traditional Medical Knowledge

(a) whether the Ministry has acknowledged during the inter-ministerial meeting with Ministry of AYUSH that the Indian entities are the repositories of traditional medical knowledge;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether the Ministry has issued any order to exclude Indian entities from manufacturing/selling AYUSH products and from paying any Access and Benefit Sharing(ABS) fee under the Biological Diversity Act 2002;

(d) if so, the details thereof; and

(e) the time by which any such gazette notification regarding the exclusion of above mentioned entities from paying ABS fee under the Biodiversity Act, 2002 will be issued?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)


(a) and (b) India is a megadiverse country rich in biodiversity and associated traditional knowledge, which is found both in the coded texts such as Ayurveda, Sidha, and Unani, as well as in undocumented oral traditions. Indian entities with business interest including Ayurveda, Sidha and Unani industry, make use of this vast natural resource base and associated traditional knowledge of the country for furthering their commercial interests.
(c) to (e) The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 enacted in pursuance to the Convention on Biological Diversity to which India is a Party, is aimed at conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components, and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the

use of these resources, also known as access and benefit sharing (ABS). The Act inter alia provides for regulating access to biological resources occurring in India and associated traditional knowledge for undertaking certain activities such as commercial utilization by Indian as well as non-Indian entities, with the objective of sharing benefits arising from their commercial use with the local people and communities. However, the Act provides for exemptions to vaids and hakims who have been practicing indigenous medicine in the country.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has not issued any order to exclude Indian industry from ABS provisions of the Act.


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