Consider the following statements: I. According to the India Patents Act, a biological process to create a seed can be patented in India. II. In India, there is no Intellectual Property appellate Board. III. Plant varieties are not eligible to be patented in India. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Only statement III is correct, so the answer is C. The core concept is patentability of biological material under Section 3(j) of the Patents Act, 1970.

• Statement I is wrong. Section 3(j) excludes from patentability plants and animals in whole or part (other than micro-organisms), including seeds, varieties and species, and essentially biological processes for their production or propagation. A process to create a seed is therefore not patentable.
• Statement II is wrong for 2019. The Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) was constituted in 2003 and was functioning when this paper was set. It was dissolved in 2021 under the Tribunal Reforms Ordinance, and its appellate work moved to the High Courts. So the statement describes the position after 2021, not the position in the exam year.
• Statement III is correct. Plant varieties are excluded from patents under Section 3(j). They are protected instead under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001, a sui generis regime that also recognises farmers' rights.

This links to Mains GS-3 on IPR, TRIPS flexibilities and the debate over seed sovereignty and biopiracy.

Trap: Candidates often mark statement II as correct because they know IPAB was dissolved, and forget that the question is framed in the 2019 context.