Impact of Plant Variety Protection on Indian Seed Industry§

This paper has examined the pattern of protection of plant varieties and the early impact of plant variety protection (PVP) on Indian seed industry. The results have shown a positive response by all the actors involved in seed provision, viz. public research institutes, private seed companies, and farmers in terms of participation in protection of varieties. To measure the concentration of private seed companies in PVP, Herfindahl–Hirschman Index was used which revealed that concentration has decreased over the years, with participation of more and more seed companies. The PVP applications for crops have also diversified with time, indicating that PVP is important for a large number of crops. The trends in exchange of germplasm, number of varieties released, breeder and quality seeds produced, and number of publicprivate partnerships, indicate the growth of Indian seed industry and its confidence in the PVP mechanism.