National Seeds Corporation Ltd. (NSC) is a Schedule ‘B’-Miniratna Category-I company wholly owned by the Government of India under the administrative control of the Department of Agriculture Cooperation & Farmer’s Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. NSC was established in March 1963 to undertake the production of foundation and certified seeds. At present, it is undertaking the production of certified seeds of nearly 567 varieties of 78 crops consisting of Cereals, Pulses, oilseeds, Fiber, Fodder, Green Manure and Vegetables, in its Farms and through its registered seed growers. There are about 5 Farms and 11603 registered seed growers all over the country who are undertaking seed production programmes in different agro-climatic conditions. Total Revenue of NSC for the FY 2021-22 was 915.72 crores.

There are 11 Regional Offices, 5 Farms consisting of 22,000 hectares of land, 48 Area Offices/Sub-Units, 30 Seed Production Centres and 107 Marketing Centres, 76 Seed processing plants, 7 Air-conditioned Seed Storage facility, 2 Vegetable Seed Packing Centres and 01 DNA Finger Printing lab of the Corporation spread all over the country. In seed production, emphasis is given to the production of oil seeds, pulses and hybrids including vegetables. NSC has established strict Quality Control procedures to ensure the supply of quality seeds to farmers. NSC has established 4 Quality Control Laboratories, one each at New Delhi, Secunderabad, Bhopal and Suratgarh to undertake seed testing to check the quality of seeds. Besides, the production and distribution of quality seeds, NSC is also involved in the production of Tissue Culture Plants like Banana. It also undertakes a supply of seedlings/saplings of fruit crops from elite progeny orchards at its farms.

 Seed marketing is carried out through different channels namely sales through dealers/distributors, Govt. (State/Central), through NSC-owned Sale counter and in Kisan Melas. There are about 3301 dealers of the Corporation who account for more than 50% of the sales turnover.

On the diversification front, NSC has commenced Fish Seed production at its Suratgarh (Rajasthan) and Raichur (Karnataka) farms. NSC has established a Fodder block-making unit at its Raichur Farm, which will ensure effective utilization of crop residues for quality fodder.

NSC has developed various infrastructure facilities at its Farms towards Micro Irrigation Systems, Water Conservation, Farm Mechanization, Threshing Floors, Seed Processing Plants, and Seed Storage Godowns. NSC also has developed infrastructure facilities of Seed Processing Plants and Seed Storage Godowns at relevant locations at its Regional/ Area offices. All these infrastructures will help in the production of quality seed.

NSC plays a key role in the implementation of various schemes of the Govt. of India like “National Mission on Oil Seed and Oil Palm (NMOOP)”, “National Food Security Mission (NFSM)” and “Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH). It also provides technical support to the seed producing agencies including State Seed Corporations by imparting training of personnel engaged in the production of seeds in that organization. NSC is the nodal agency for the implementation of the Central Sector Scheme to create infrastructure facilities for the establishment of processing plants and storage godowns in different states in the private sector. NSC is also involved in exports of seeds across the world especially in SAARC and African countries. The SAARC seed bank maintained by NSC with the grant in aid of the Govt. of India holds a larger qty. of seeds of different crops/varieties that are meant to meet the demand that arises during natural calamities like flood, drought etc. NSC also takes care to meet the demand for quality seed of the farmers in the interior parts of the country like North Eastern States & other hilly regions.

With the launching of the National Seed Project (NSP) in 1974, the NSC was assigned the lead role of developing the seed industry in the country on sound lines. NSC has also contributed to the establishment of various State Seed Corporations under the NSP during the seventies.