Prior to British rule, organised seed sector did not exist in India. There were grain bazaars during Mughal period where wholesale trade of grains and seeds took place. Varieties of crops grown were those developed by farmers and varied from place to place. Famines due to crop failures happened at regular intervals. From late 1800s, attention was given to agricultural development and also to a system for supply of seeds to farmers. First major step was establishment of IARI in Pusa. Prior to that, formal seed trade had begun by way of European vegetable seeds sold to Indian farmers on a limited scale. More serious efforts were initiated after the Royal Commission’s report to the government in 1928. Although by then organised seed sector was already in place in Europe, for India, the government relied on state-owned farms and supplying seeds to farmers through its own machinery. While the Bengal famine of 1943 rattled the whole system, the partition of 1947 further aggravated food shortage situation. Despite best efforts, existing crop varieties were not capable of achieving enough increase in productivity to meet the demand. Finally, the breakthrough that became known as Green Revolution happened after mid-1960s as a result of concerted efforts of the government, Indian scientists, and international cooperation. Along with it, the establishment of National Seeds Corporation, as India’s first organised seed production and delivery system, and the promulgation of seed laws were other steps in the right direction. An equally valuable contribution was made by ‘Tarai Development Corporation’ that supplied quality seeds branded as ‘Pantnagar’ seeds (Presently operates in the name of Uttarakhand Seeds and Tarai Development Corporation Ltd.). Several state seed corporations that were set up thereafter under National Seed Project further helped Indian seed sector to grow stronger. Meanwhile, the private sector had started getting into the business of seeds but were initially focusing on niche markets and profitable segments. The New Seed Policy of 1988 provided big impetus to private sector to scale up their business and also attracted leading business houses to get into this sector. The nineties saw major changes as well as all-round growth in the sector that culminated into India’s entry into the age of GM crops at the beginning of the present millennium.