# Seed industry urges Centre to recognise private research in Seed Bill

2026-09-25T00:16:29+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 2 independent outlets

The private seed industry has urged the Centre to recognise the research capabilities of the private sector in the proposed Seed Bill, 2025, which seeks to replace the Seeds Act, 1966. The Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) presented its demands at its 10th Annual General Meeting in New Delhi. The industry wants the bill to address the growing problem of fake seeds, with spurious and substandard samples rising over 7% among 5.98 lakh samples tested between 2022-23 and 2024-25. It has also called for a unified national framework, faster approvals, stronger intellectual property protection, and adoption of advanced technologies including genetically modified and gene-edited seeds. India's seed sector, valued at $3.6 billion, aims to increase its share of the global seed trade from around 1% to 10% by 2035. The FSII said it is ready to invest more in research, especially in oilseeds and pulses, and wants farmers to have access to the latest seed technologies at the same time as farmers in other countries.

## Indian Opinion Analysis

Both newindianexpress.com and thehindubusinessline.com report the same industry demands from the FSII meeting without editorial slant. The coverage is uniform straight reporting, focused on the industry's push for technology recognition and quality controls in the proposed Seed Bill. The key difference is emphasis: newindianexpress.com leads with the fake seed data, while thehindubusinessline.com leads with the gene-editing demand. Neither source includes government response or farmer group objections beyond a single mention of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh's opposition to the word 'transgenic'. The next step to watch is the bill's introduction in Parliament and whether the government includes private sector research recognition.

## Coverage

- newindianexpress.com (neutral report) <https://www.newindianexpress.com/india/2026/Sep/24/private-seed-industry-seeks-recognition-of-research-capabilities-in-new-seed-bill>
  Leads with fake seed data, straight reporting of industry demands.
- thehindubusinessline.com (neutral report) <https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/gene-editing-a-must-to-raise-yield-in-india-as-technologies-have-no-boundary-seed-industry/article71504755.ece>
  Leads with gene-editing technology demand, straight reporting of industry views.

Tags: FSII, Ministry of Agriculture, Seed Bill 2025
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