{"id":28310,"date":"2026-08-27T17:36:59","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T12:06:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/?p=28310"},"modified":"2026-08-27T17:36:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T12:06:59","slug":"art-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/art-act\/","title":{"rendered":"ART Act, Background, Provisions, Challenges, Way Forward"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 (ART Act), is India\u2019s first comprehensive legislation to regulate and supervise ART clinics and banks. Enacted on 18 December 2021 and brought into force on 25 January 2022, the ART Act aims to ensure the safe, ethical and regulated provision of assisted reproductive services. It covers procedures involving the handling of sperm or oocytes outside the human body and the transfer of gametes or embryos, including IVF, gamete donation and embryo-related procedures.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The ART Act establishes the National Registry, National and State Boards and appropriate authorities for registration, monitoring and supervision. It safeguards informed consent, record-keeping, gamete and embryo storage, prohibits sex selection, regulates research, protects children born through ART, and prescribes offences and penalties to prevent misuse.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ART Act 2021 Background\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Before the <\/span><b>ART Act,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> India lacked any statutory framework to regulate the rapidly growing fertility industry, leaving patients, donors, and children born through <\/span><b>ART<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> without legal protection. The legislative process that led to the Act spanned over a decade of policy deliberation and multiple failed attempts at enactment.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Around<\/span><b> 2.8 crore couples <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">in the reproductive age group in India are estimated to be infertile, of whom approximately<\/span><b> 20\u201325% undergo in vitro fertilisation treatment.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 2005, the <\/span><b>Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> issued guidelines to regulate <\/span><b>ART clinics<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, but these were non-binding and lacked the force of law.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In July 2019, the government introduced the <\/span><b>Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> which was passed by <\/span><b>the Lok Sabha<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> but referred to a <\/span><b>Select Committee in the Rajya Sabha.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Committee recommended that comprehensive legislation first be introduced to regulate <\/span><b>ART services, with surrogacy <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">addressed separately.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The ART Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in September 2021 and passed with amendments on December 1, 2021.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ART Act 2021 Provisions<\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The ART Act 2021 lays down a comprehensive regulatory framework covering the registration of clinics and banks, eligibility criteria, the rights of donors and children, and penalties for violations. Its key provisions are as follows:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Definition of ART (Section 2): <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The ART Act defines Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) as techniques such as IVF, gamete donation, embryo transfer, and related procedures involving the handling of sperm or oocytes outside the human body.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Registration of Clinics and Banks (Sections 15-20): <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The ART Act mandates compulsory registration of all ART clinics and banks under the National Registry for a period of five years.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Regulatory Bodies (Section 5-15): <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The ART Act establishes National and State Boards along with a National Registry to regulate, supervise, and monitor ART services.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Eligibility Criteria (Section 21): <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The ART Act permits ART services for married infertile couples and single women, with the woman aged 21\u201350 years and the man aged 21\u201355 years, subject to prescribed conditions.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Donor Eligibility and Restrictions (Section 27):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The ART Act allows semen donation by males aged 21\u201355 years and oocyte donation by females aged 23\u201335 years, with strict donation limits. The woman can donate eggs only once in her life, and not more than seven eggs can be retrieved from her.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Rights of the Child (Section 31): <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The ART Act recognises a child born through ART as the biological child of the commissioning couple with all legal rights.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Consent and Insurance (Section 22): <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The ART Act requires written informed consent from all parties and mandates 12 months of insurance coverage for the oocyte donor.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Prohibition on Sex Selection and Sale of Gametes (Sections 26, 29 and 32):<\/b> The ART Act prohibits sex-selective procedures and bans the sale, purchase, or trade of human gametes and embryos<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. It also mandates compliance with the <\/span><b>Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994 (PCPNDT Act)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, which separately prohibits sex selection and prenatal sex determination.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Offences and Penalties (Sections 33-34):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The ART Act prescribes fines and imprisonment for offences such as exploitation of donors, sale of gametes, and abandonment of children born through ART.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ART Act 2021 Challenges\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Despite its landmark status, the ART Act faces several legislative, structural, and ethical concerns that may limit its effectiveness in practice.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Exclusion of Single Men and LGBTQ+ Individuals: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Act restricts access to married infertile couples and single women, raising concerns regarding equality and non-discrimination under Article 14.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Overlap with the Surrogacy Act:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Inconsistencies between the ART Act, 2021, and the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, create regulatory ambiguity and compliance challenges for clinics.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Commercialisation of ART Services: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Despite regulation, risks of commercial exploitation, unethical practices, and profit-driven fertility services continue to persist.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>High Cost and Limited Accessibility: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ART procedures remain expensive and are beyond the reach of many couples due to limited insurance coverage and inadequate public-sector infrastructure.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Privacy and Data Protection Concerns: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mandatory collection and sharing of sensitive personal information raises concerns over informational privacy and inadequate data protection safeguards.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Weak Enforcement Mechanism:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Shortage of regulatory capacity, inadequate inspections, and uneven implementation across States weaken effective oversight of ART clinics.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Cross-border Reproductive Services:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Limited regulation of international fertility services and movement of gametes or embryos may encourage reproductive tourism and jurisdictional challenges.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Ethical Issues:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Concerns remain regarding informed consent, donor exploitation, embryo handling, donor anonymity, and the rights of ART-conceived children.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ART Act 2021 Case Laws<\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The ART Act, 2021, is guided by the constitutional principles of reproductive autonomy, dignity, privacy, and bodily integrity developed through landmark Supreme Court judgements under Article 21. These decisions form the constitutional foundation of India's reproductive rights jurisprudence.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Suchita Srivastava v. Chandigarh Administration (Supreme Court, 2009): <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/supreme-court-of-india\/\" target=\"_blank\">Supreme Court of India<\/a><\/strong> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">held that a woman's reproductive choice is an integral part of personal liberty under<\/span><b> Article 21<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, encompassing both the right to procreate and the right to refrain from procreation, subject to the provisions of the MTP Act.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (Supreme Court, 2017):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The nine-judge Bench recognised the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/right-to-privacy\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Right to\u00a0<\/b><strong>Privacy <\/strong><\/a>as\u00a0a fundamental right under Article 21 <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and held that <\/span>reproductive autonomy, procreation, and family life are essential facets of decisional privacy.<\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>X v. Principal Secretary, Health &amp; Family Welfare Department, GNCTD (Supreme Court, 2022):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The Supreme Court held that unmarried women are entitled to the <\/span><b>same reproductive rights as married women under the MTP Act, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">affirmed bodily autonomy under <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/article-21\/\" target=\"_blank\">Article 21<\/a><\/strong>, and interpreted the law to ensure non-discriminatory access to reproductive healthcare.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ART Act 2021 Way Forward<\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Realising the full potential of the ART Act requires addressing its legislative gaps, strengthening implementation mechanisms, and ensuring that the framework evolves with medical and social realities.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Harmonising ART and Surrogacy Laws: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The ART Act and the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, should be harmonised through a unified regulatory framework.<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This will resolve inconsistencies such as differing registration validity periods - five years under the ART Act versus three years under the Surrogacy Act -\u00a0 and varying waiting periods for infertility eligibility.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Expanding Eligibility: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The ART Act should extend ART services to single men and LGBTQ+ individuals, as the current restriction to married couples and single women excludes a significant section of the population seeking to have children through assisted reproduction.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Strengthening Data Privacy:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The ART Act should ensure that data shared with the National Registry is anonymised and collected for specific, defined purposes only, as mandated by the Supreme Court's Puttaswamy judgement.<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For instance, while tracking the number of oocyte donations per donor may be necessary, sharing the personal details of all commissioning parties serves no clear regulatory purpose.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Mandatory Counselling for Donors:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The ART Act should provide for pre-procedure counselling and the right to withdraw consent before implantation for gamete donors, consistent with ICMR guidelines of 2005.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Robust Grievance Redressal: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The ART Act should establish an independent <\/span><b>grievance redressal mechanism <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">within the Registration Authority, with a defined 30-day resolution timeframe, to address complaints against ART clinics and banks without burdening courts.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Effective National Registry<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">: The National Registry under the ART Act should be operationalised promptly with adequate technical infrastructure to function as a reliable central database.<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For instance, tracking the number of donations per donor and outcomes of ART procedures across clinics for effective policy formulation.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Periodic Legislative Review:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The ART Act should undergo periodic parliamentary review to address emerging scientific and ethical developments, such as the use of <\/span><b>artificial gametes, gene editing technologies like CRISPR, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and evolving social understandings of parenthood and family.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ART Act 2021 UPSC PYQs<\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p><b>Q1. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the context of recent advances in human reproductive technology, \"Pronuclear Transfer\" is used for<\/span> <b>(UPSC Prelims 2020)<\/b><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">(a) Fertilisation of an egg in vitro by the donor sperm\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">(b) Genetic modification of sperm-producing cells\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">(c) Development of stem cells into functional embryos\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">(d) Prevention of mitochondrial diseases in offspring\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><b>Ans: <\/b>(d)<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The ART Act, 2021, is India&#8217;s first comprehensive legislation to regulate assisted reproductive technology services. Learn about its background, provisions, challenges and case laws. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":28392,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,28],"tags":[1916,40,634],"class_list":["post-28310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upsc-notes","category-upsc-social-justice-notes","tag-art-act","tag-quest","tag-upsc-social-justice-notes"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28310"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28310\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28416,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28310\/revisions\/28416"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}