The Hague-based Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) recently carried out inspections of two Indian chemical companies based in Gujarat.

Sources in the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals (DCPC) said that the OPCW carried out inspections of Glenmark Generiks Ltd, Ankleshwar, which is a Schedule 2 facility and Vapi Spectorchem Pvt, Ltd, an OCPF facility in terms of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their destruction.

The DCPC said that till February, there have been 95 OPCW inspections in India including three in the current calendar year.

To create awareness among the stakeholders on the obligations under CWC, and the CWC Act and to improve the quality of declarations by the industry, a series of awareness generation programmes were held last year at various locations in the country with a concentration of chemical industry relevant to CWC.

The DCPC is responsible for submission of industry declarations, facilitation of inspections by OPCW teams as also creating awareness in the industry about its obligations under CWC.

Certain toxic chemicals and their precursors are covered under the ambit of the CWC, of which India is a signatory.