For section 7 of the principal Act, the following section shall be substituted, namely:—

7.

Prior intimation to State Biodiversity Board for accessing biological resource for certain purposes.

(1) No person, other than the person covered under sub-section (2) of section 3, shall access any biological resource and its associated knowledge for commercial utilisation, without giving prior intimation to the concerned State Biodiversity Board, but such access shall be subject to the provisions of clause (b) of section 23 and sub-section (2) of section 24:

Provided that the provisions of this section shall not apply to the codified traditional knowledge, cultivated medicinal plants and its products, local people and communities of the area, including growers and cultivators of biodiversity and to vaids, hakims and registered AYUSH practitioners only who have been practicing indigenous medicines, including Indian systems of medicine as profession for sustenance and livelihood.

(2)

In the case of cultivated medicinal plants, the exemption under sub-section

(1)

shall be available only if a certificate of origin is obtained from the Biodiversity Management Committee in such manner as may be prescribed.

(3)

The Biodiversity Management Committee shall, on the basis of entries made in such books, maintained in such manner, issue the certificate of origin under subsection (2) in such manner as may be prescribed.".