Section 2 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Section 2 is the dictionary of the Act. Almost every later provision turns on one of its terms: who counts as a breeder or a farmer, what counts as a variety, and which varieties are "extant" or "farmers'" varieties.
Provisions as amended up to the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 (in force 4 April 2021); no later amendment as of 3 October 2026. Later notifications should be checked on plantauthority.gov.in.
Section 2 opens "In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires". A breeder can be a person, a group, a farmer, a group of farmers or an institution that has bred, evolved or developed a variety. A farmer includes one who conserves wild species or traditional varieties. A variety is a plant grouping within the lowest known botanical rank, and it expressly includes extant, transgenic, farmers' and essentially derived varieties. Five clauses are omitted since 2021.
People and bodies
| Clause | Term | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 2(a) | Authority | The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority established under section 3(1) |
| 2(c) | Breeder | A person or group of persons or a farmer or group of farmers or any institution which has bred, evolved or developed any variety |
| 2(e) | Chairperson | The Chairperson of the Authority appointed under section 3(5)(a) |
| 2(k) | Farmer | Any person who (i) cultivates crops by cultivating the land himself; (ii) cultivates crops by directly supervising the cultivation of land through any other person; or (iii) conserves and preserves, severally or jointly, with any person any wild species or traditional varieties or adds value to such wild species or traditional varieties through selection and identification of their useful properties |
| 2(p) | Member | A member of the Authority appointed under section 3(5)(b), and it includes the member-secretary |
| 2(t) | Registrar | A Registrar of Plant Varieties appointed under section 12(4), and it includes the Registrar-General |
| 2(u) | Registrar-General | The Registrar-General of Plant Varieties appointed under section 12(3) |
| 2(v) | Registry | The Plant Variety Registry referred to in section 12(1) |
If a definition decides whether your group or institution can apply at all, a legal consultation is a sensible first step. Two points stand out. First, "breeder" is wide: a farmer or a group of farmers can be a breeder, so a village-level selection effort is not shut out by the definition. Second, the farmer definition has three limbs, and the third (conserving and preserving, or adding value through selection and identification of useful properties) reaches people who may not grow a crop commercially at all.
Plant material and related terms
| Clause | Term | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 2(b) | Benefit sharing | The proportion of the benefit accruing to a breeder, or accruing to the breeder from an agent or licensee, to which a claimant is entitled as determined by the Authority under section 26 |
| 2(g) | Denomination | The denomination of a variety, its propagating material or an essentially derived variety, expressed by letters or a combination of letters and figures written in any language |
| 2(h) | Essential characteristics | Heritable traits determined by the expression of one or more genes (or other heritable determinants) that contribute to the principal features, performance or value of the variety |
| 2(r) | Propagating material | Any plant or its component or part, including an intended seed or seed, capable of, or suitable for, regeneration into a plant |
| 2(x) | Seed | A type of living embryo or propagule capable of regeneration and giving rise to a plant which is true to such type |
| 2(m) | Gene Fund | The National Gene Fund constituted under section 45(1) |
Essentially derived variety: clause 2(i)
A variety is "essentially derived" from an initial variety when it:
- is predominantly derived from the initial variety, or from a variety that is itself predominantly derived from it, while retaining the expression of the essential characteristics that result from the genotype or combination of genotypes of the initial variety;
- is clearly distinguishable from the initial variety; and
- conforms to the initial variety, except for the differences that result from the act of derivation, in the expression of the essential characteristics.
All three limbs are joined by "and", so a variety that merely looks similar, or merely differs in one trait, is not automatically essentially derived. Registration of such a variety is dealt with in section 23.
Extant variety: clause 2(j)
An extant variety is a variety available in India which is (i) notified under section 5 of the Seeds Act, 1966; (ii) a farmers' variety; (iii) a variety about which there is common knowledge; or (iv) any other variety which is in the public domain. The four heads are alternatives. The Seeds Act, 1966 is named as printed; check the current law on that Act separately.
Farmers' variety: clause 2(l)
A farmers' variety is one which (i) has been traditionally cultivated and evolved by the farmers in their fields; or (ii) is a wild relative or land race of a variety about which the farmers possess the common knowledge. Farmers' varieties are also extant varieties under clause 2(j)(ii), which is why the farmers' rights in section 39 and the registration route for extant varieties both touch the same plant.
Variety: clause 2(za)
"Variety" means a plant grouping, except micro-organism, within a single botanical taxon of the lowest known rank, which can be (i) defined by the expression of the characteristics resulting from a given genotype of that grouping; (ii) distinguished from any other plant grouping by expression of at least one of those characteristics; and (iii) considered as a unit with regard to its suitability for being propagated, which remains unchanged after propagation. The definition then adds an inclusive tail: it "includes propagating material of such variety, extant variety, transgenic variety, farmers' variety and essentially derived variety." Micro-organisms are therefore outside the Act.
For the tests that a variety must meet to be registered, see sections 14 and 15.
Convention country: clause 2(f)
A convention country is a country which has acceded to an international convention for the protection of plant varieties to which India has also acceded, or a country which has a law on protection of plant varieties on the basis of which India has entered into an agreement for granting plant breeders' right to the citizens of both countries. The Act does not list such countries in section 2; notifications are separate.
"Prescribed": clause 2(q) as substituted in 2021
Since 4 April 2021, "prescribed" means (i) in relation to proceedings before a High Court, prescribed by rules made by the High Court, and (ii) in other cases, prescribed by rules made under this Act. This matters for appeals: the period for an appeal to the High Court is therefore whatever the High Court's own rules say, not a period fixed in this Act.
Omitted clauses
Clauses (d), (n), (o), (y) and (z) of section 2 were omitted by the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021, section 23. They are not reproduced here. An invented example: Ananya Agro Producers, a group of farmers, has selected a rice line over many years. Under clause 2(c) the group can be a breeder. If the line has long been cultivated in the group's own fields, clause 2(l)(i) may make it a farmers' variety and so an extant variety.
Need help with plant variety definitions?
Whether a particular line is an extant variety, a farmers' variety or an essentially derived variety decides your route and your rights. If you are unsure, take a legal consultation before you file or sell.
Key takeaways
- A breeder may be a person, a group, a farmer, a group of farmers or an institution.
- The farmer definition has three limbs and covers conservers of wild species and traditional varieties.
- Essentially derived variety has three cumulative limbs; extant variety has four alternatives.
- "Variety" excludes micro-organisms and expressly includes extant, transgenic, farmers' and essentially derived varieties.
- Clauses (d), (n), (o), (y) and (z) are omitted, and "prescribed" was substituted in 2021.
Read next
- Section 1: short title, extent and commencement
- Sections 14-15: registrable varieties
- Section 23: essentially derived varieties
- Sections 45-46: the National Gene Fund
Disclaimer: Based on the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001 as amended up to the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021, the PPV&FR Rules, 2003 as amended up to G.S.R. 803(E) of 16 November 2021, and the regulations, rules and scheme named in the article, as published by the PPV&FR Authority and consulted on 3 October 2026. Later notifications should be checked on plantauthority.gov.in. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.