By: ICN Bureau
Last updated : April 27, 2026 10:58 am
It has called for structured evaluation processes, independent expert committees for molecule-level reviews, and legally embedded safeguards for sampling and testing procedures
A sweeping overhaul of India’s pesticide regulation regime has triggered a strong response from industry, with CropLife India urging the government to plug key gaps in the Draft Pesticides Management Bill, 2025 before it becomes law.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare released the draft legislation on January 7, 2026, seeking stakeholder feedback by February 4.
The proposed law aims to replace the decades-old Insecticides Act, 1968. CropLife India, which represents major crop protection companies, submitted its recommendations a day before the deadline, calling for sharper safeguards, clearer accountability, and science-led decision-making.
“The government’s initiative to update pesticide regulations via the Draft Pesticides Management Bill 2025 is a critical and timely move. While the Bill’s focus on digitization and combating counterfeit products is a positive step, it must go further to address modern agricultural realities. Farmers today face increasingly unpredictable pest threats, and exporters are navigating stricter residue standards in markets like the EU and UK. To remain competitive, the final legislation must provide a science-based, efficient framework that eliminates illegal trade and accelerates the introduction of safer, advanced crop protection technologies,” Ankur Aggarwal, Chairman, CropLife India and Executive Chairman & Managing Director, Crystal Crop Protection Ltd., said while addressing media in New Delhi.
At the heart of the industry’s concerns is the absence of protection for proprietary regulatory data. The submission warns that the draft Bill does not safeguard the “extensive safety, efficacy, residue and environmental data generated for the registration of a new pesticide.”
To address this, CropLife India has pushed for a five-year, time-bound framework that would prevent competitors from using originator data without consent.
The group has also flagged a regulatory blind spot in the booming online marketplace. It notes that the draft Bill does not include provisions governing pesticide sales through e-commerce platforms.
In response, CropLife India has called for strict statutory obligations on digital platforms, including seller verification, product traceability, and mandatory takedown mechanisms—proposing even a dedicated chapter on e-commerce regulation.
On enforcement, the industry body has sought to narrow liability in cases involving large companies with multiple facilities. It recommends that only the “nominated person in-charge of the specific facility” be held accountable for violations at that location, citing parallels with existing food safety law.
The submission also pushes for a more balanced penalty framework. It urges lawmakers to distinguish between “minor procedural lapses and wilful violations,” introduce a formal mechanism to correct minor non-compliance before penalties, and ensure that fines are defined in the statute rather than altered through executive action.
Emergency powers granted under the draft law have come under scrutiny as well. The Bill allows provisional bans on pesticides for up to one year, extendable by another 180 days. CropLife India argues this is excessive, recommending a sharply reduced window of 60 to 120 days, followed by mandatory scientific review.
Across the board, the industry is pressing for decisions to remain rooted in science. It has called for structured evaluation processes, independent expert committees for molecule-level reviews, and legally embedded safeguards for sampling and testing procedures—areas it says are critical given their evidentiary weight in enforcement.
The group has also raised concerns about regulatory consistency across states. While the draft Bill allows state governments to define qualifications for licensing officers and inspectors, CropLife India wants these standards set centrally to ensure uniform enforcement nationwide.
Other recommendations include stronger accountability provisions for inspectors and analysts, clearer governance rules for the Registration Committee, tighter conditions for provisional registrations, and mandatory third-party audits for testing laboratories.
Even as it backs the Bill’s push toward digitisation, the industry is seeking clearer timelines and implementation standards to improve transparency and predictability.
Finally, CropLife India has urged the government to expand the Bill’s stated objectives. It recommends explicitly recognising quality—alongside safety and efficacy—as a core regulatory goal, and ensuring all crop protection products, including biologicals and traditional formulations, are held to uniform scientific standards.
With the government now reviewing stakeholder feedback, the final shape of the legislation will determine how India balances innovation, safety, and enforcement in one of the world’s largest agricultural markets.