The National Biodiversity Authority has disbursed Rs 4.505 million (mn) to benefit claimers through State Biodiversity Boards and Union Territory Biodiversity Councils. The pay-outs will benefit more than 90 Biodiversity Management Committees across 10 States and two Union Territories, including Telangana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union Territory of Ladakh. The payments also include funds to 15 farmers of Red Sanders from Andhra Pradesh. These Biodiversity Management Committees represent a range of diverse ecological and institutional settings, including rural villages, urban local bodies, mangrove areas and industrial vicinities. The benefit sharing amount was generated from the use of various biological resources, including certain insects, microorganisms found in soil and water and cultivated Red Sanders. Those resources were used to develop a range of products that illustrate how biodiversity underpins scientific innovation and the bio-economy. Under the Access and Benefit Sharing mechanism a share of commercial benefits gained by companies is returned to communities, helping improve livelihoods and encouraging local protection and conservation of biological diversity. In recent years the National Biodiversity Authority has implemented simplified regulations to improve transparency and promote ease of doing business while continuing to safeguard communities' interests and biodiversity. The authority works closely with States, local bodies, researchers, industry and communities to spread awareness and build capacity for biodiversity conservation and its sustainable use. It supports the documentation of People's Biodiversity Registers including traditional knowledge details and a participatory approach to managing and protecting biodiversity at the grassroots level. Collectively these measures have resulted in cumulative Access and Benefit Sharing payments crossing Rs 1.45 billion (bn), reflecting sustained investment in community stewardship of biodiversity. The National Biodiversity Authority continues to play a key role in advancing India's obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing at national and international levels. Those efforts are also aimed at contributing to the goals of the National Biodiversity Targets and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.