Section 1. Short title, extent and commencement

CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY 1. Short title, extent and commencement. — (1) This Act may be called the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021. (2) It shall come into force on such date[1] as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint. 1. 25[th] January, 2022, vide notification No. S.O. 291(E), dated 20th January, 2022, see Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, sec. 3(ii). (f) "embryo" means a developing or developed organism after fertilisation till the end of fifty-six days from the day of fertilisation; (g) "gamete" means sperm and oocyte; (h) "gamete donor" means a person who provides sperm or oocyte with the objective of enabling an infertile couple or woman to have a child; (i) "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); (j) "infertility" means the inability to conceive after one year of unprotected coitus or other proven medical condition preventing a couple from conception; (k) "National Board" means the National Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Board to be constituted under sub-section (1) of section 17 of the Surrogacy Act; (l) "National Registry" means the National Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Registry established under section 9; (m) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette; (n) "patients" means an individual or couple who comes to any registered assisted reproductive technology clinic for management of infertility; (o) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (p) "appropriate authority" means the authority appointed under section 12; (q) "regulations" means the regulations made by the National Board under this Act; (r) "sperm" means the mature male gamete; (s) "State Board" means a State Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Board to be constituted under section 26 of the Surrogacy Act; (t) "Surrogacy Act" means the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021; and (u) "woman" means any woman above the age of twenty-one years who approaches an assisted reproductive technology clinic or assisted reproductive technology bank for obtaining the authorised services of the clinic or bank. (2) The expressions "clinics" and "banks" occurring in this Act shall be construed as "assisted reproductive technology clinics" and "assisted reproductive technology banks". (3) Words and expressions used herein and not defined in this Act but defined in the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in that Act.