Introduction

Indian Agriculture has made enormous strides in the past 50 years, raising foodgrains production from 50 million tonnes to over 200 million tonnes. In the process, the country has progressed from a situation of food shortages and imports to one of surpluses and exports. Having achieved food sufficiency, the aim now is to achieve food and nutritional security at the household level.

The increase in agricultural production however has brought in its wake, uneven development across regions, crops and also across different sections of farming community. In the decade of the 'nineties', a marked slackening in the pace of growth occurred, pointing to the need for infusing a new vitality in the agricultural sector.

Seed is the most important determinant of agricultural production potential on which the efficiency of other agriculture inputs is dependent. Seeds of appropriate characteristics are required to meet the demand of diverse agro-climatic conditions and intensive cropping systems. Sustained increase in agriculture production and productivity is dependent to a large extent on the development of new and improved varieties of crops and an efficient system for timely supply of quality seeds to farmers.

The seed sector has made impressive progress over the last three decades. The area under certified seeds has increased from less than 500 hectares in 1962-63 to over 5 lakh hectares in 1999-2000. The quantum of quality seeds has crossed 100 lakh quintals.

The Seeds Act, 1966 and Seeds Control Order promulgated thereunder, and the New Policy on Seeds Development, 1988, form the basis of promotion and regulation of the Seed Industry. Far-reaching changes, however, have taken place in the national economic and agricultural scenario and in the international environment since the enactment of the existing seed legislation and the announcement of the 1988 Policy.