New Delhi, Oct. 19 -- The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has disbursed Rs 1.19 crore to 29 State Biodiversity Boards and one Union Territory Biodiversity Council under the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) mechanism for the utilisation of agricultural biological resources.

The funds comprise contributions from companies involved in research and commercial utilisation of agricultural biological resources. As the resources were procured through markets or traders, individual beneficiaries could not be readily identified.

The NBA therefore distributed the amount based on estimated cultivation areas of the respective crops, using agricultural statistics published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

Maharashtra receive...