Traditional Knowledge Systems — Key Changes

Entry	Year	Description	Impact
N/A (Act Establishment)	2001	Establishment of the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) by CSIR and Department of AYUSH. This was a policy and institutional innovation rather than an amendment to a specific act.	Revolutionized the defensive protection of India's traditional medicinal knowledge by creating a comprehensive database of prior art, significantly reducing instances of biopiracy and erroneous patent grants globally. It shifted India's strategy from reactive challenges to proactive prevention.
N/A (Act Enactment)	2002	Enactment of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. This Act was a direct response to India's obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).	Provided a comprehensive legal framework for the conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components, and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of biological resources and associated knowledge. It established the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) and State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) to regulate access and ensure benefit-sharing, directly impacting the protection of traditional knowledge associated with biological resources.
Patent (Amendment) Act	2005	Significant amendments to The Patents Act, 1970, particularly strengthening provisions related to traditional knowledge and pre-grant opposition.	Reinforced Section 3(p), explicitly stating that traditional knowledge or its aggregation is not patentable. It also strengthened the pre-grant opposition mechanism (Section 25), allowing third parties to challenge patent applications based on prior art, including traditional knowledge, making it harder for biopiracy to succeed within India's patent system.
N/A (Policy Shift)	2014	Formation of the Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy). Previously, these systems were under a department within the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.	Elevated the status and focus on traditional Indian systems of medicine, providing a dedicated institutional framework for their development, promotion, research, and integration into national healthcare. This move significantly boosted efforts to preserve, validate, and mainstream traditional medical knowledge.