Punjab seeks denotification of hybrid rice varieties, but Indian govt wants more time
The Centre is unlikely to immediately accept Punjab’s demand to de-notify hybrid rice seed varieties after tests showed all 23 post-2015 hybrids exceeded milling and head rice recovery benchmarks. The issue will be discussed further with the Punjab government following legal disputes over hybrid seed restrictions.
The Indian government is in no hurry to accept the Punjab government’s demand to denotify hybrid rice varieties seeds for the State. This follows the finding that all the 23 hybrid varieties released after 2015 have higher than the benchmark standards in terms of recovery, which is minimum 67 per cent for milling (conversion from paddy to rice) and 55 per cent head rice (unbroken grain). However, the issue would be resolved after discussing with the State government, sources said.
The Punjab government recently wrote to the Centre requesting it to de-notify all the hybrid paddy (non-Basmati) varieties so that it can check sales of those seeds under a State law in force for last many years.
In August 2025, the Punjab and Haryana High Court quashed the State government’s ban on hybrid paddy seeds, which was imposed in April last year. However, the Court allowed the state to restrict sales of any non-notified varieties seeds.
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Source : The Hindu Business Line
