Definitions

Section 2 of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 deals with definitions. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) "abandoned child" means a child born out of surrogacy procedure who has been deserted by his intending parents or guardians and declared as abandoned by the appropriate authority after due enquiry; The Act came into force on 25 Jan 2022.

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,--

(a) "abandoned child" means a child born out of surrogacy procedure who has been deserted by his intending parents or guardians and declared as abandoned by the appropriate authority after due enquiry;

(b) "altruistic surrogacy" means the surrogacy in which no charges, expenses, fees, remuneration or monetary incentive of whatever nature, except the medical expenses and such other prescribed expenses incurred on surrogate mother and the insurance coverage for the surrogate mother, are given to the surrogate mother or her dependents or her representative;

(c) "appropriate authority" means the appropriate authority appointed under Section 35;

(d) "Assisted Reproductive Technology Act" means the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021;

(e) "Board" means the National Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Board constituted under Section 17;

(f) "clinical establishment" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 (23 of 2010);

(g) "commercial surrogacy" means commercialisation of surrogacy services or procedures or its component services or component procedures including selling or buying of human embryo or trading in the sale or purchase of human embryo or gametes or selling or buying or trading the services of surrogate motherhood by way of giving payment, reward, benefit, fees, remuneration or monetary incentive in cash or kind, to the surrogate mother or her dependents or her representative, except the medical expenses and such other prescribed expenses incurred on the surrogate mother and the insurance coverage for the surrogate mother;

(h) "couple" means the legally married Indian man and woman above the age of 21 years and 18 years respectively;

(i) "egg" includes the female gamete;

(j) "embryo" means a developing or developed organism after fertilisation till the end of fiftysix days;

(k) "embryologist" means a person who possesses any post-graduate medical qualification or doctoral degree in the field of embryology or clinical embryology from a recognised university with not less than two years of clinical experience;

(l) "fertilisation" means the penetration of the ovum by the spermatozoan and fusion of genetic materials resulting in the development of a zygote;

(m) "foetus" means a human organism during the period of its development beginning on the fifty-seventh day following fertilisation or creation (excluding any time in which its development has been suspended) and ending at the birth;

(n) "gamete" means sperm and oocyte;

(o) "gynaecologist" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994 (57 of 1994);

(p) "implantation" means the attachment and subsequent penetration by the zona-free blastocyst, which starts five to seven days following fertilisation;

(q) "insurance" means an arrangement by which a company, individual or intending couple undertake to provide a guarantee of compensation for medical expenses, health issues, specified loss, damage, illness or death of surrogate mother and such other prescribed expenses incurred on such surrogate mother during the process of surrogacy;

(r) "intending couple" means a couple who have a medical indication necessitating gestational surrogacy and who intend to become parents through surrogacy;

(s) "intending woman" means an Indian woman who is a widow or divorcee between the age of 35 to 45 years and who intends to avail the surrogacy;

(t) "Member" means a Member of the National Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Board or a State Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Board, as the case may be;

(u) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette;

(v) "oocyte" means naturally ovulating oocyte in the female genetic tract;

(w) "Paediatrician" means a person who possesses a post-graduate qualification in paediatrics as recognised under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (102 of 1956);

(x) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(y) "registered medical practitioner" means a medical practitioner who possesses any recognised medical qualification as defined in clause (h) of Section 2 of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (102 of 1956) and whose name has been entered in a State Medical Register;

(z) "regulation" means regulations made by the Board under this Act;

(za) "sex selection" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (o) of Section 2 of the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994 (57 of 1994);

(zb) "State Board" means the State Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Board constituted under section 26;

(zc) "State Government" in relation to Union territory with Legislature, means the Administrator of the Union territory appointed by the President under article 239 of the Constitution;

(zd) "surrogacy" means a practice whereby one woman bears and gives birth to a child for an intending couple with the intention of handing over such child to the intending couple after the birth;

(ze) "surrogacy clinic" means surrogacy clinic, centre or laboratory, conducting assisted reproductive technology services, invitro fertilisation services, genetic counselling centre, genetic laboratory, Assisted Reproductive Technology Banks conducting surrogacy procedure or any clinical establishment, by whatsoever name called, conducting surrogacy procedures in any form;

(zf) "surrogacy procedures" means all gynaecological, obstetrical or medical procedures, techniques, tests, practices or services involving handling of human gametes and human embryo in surrogacy;

(zg) "surrogate mother" means a woman who agrees to bear a child (who is genetically related to the intending couple or intending woman) through surrogacy from the implantation of embryo in her womb and fulfils the conditions as provided in sub-clause (b) of clause (iii) of Section 4;

(zh) "zygote" means the fertilised oocyte prior to the first cell division.

(2) Words and expressions used herein and not defined in this Act but defined in the Assisted Reproductive Technology Act shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in that Act.

Section 2, The Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 (Act 47 of 2021).