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Govt seeks public feedback on Draft Pesticides Management Bill, 2025
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Monday, 12 January, 2026, 12 : 00 PM [IST]
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Our Bureau, New Delhi
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The Government of India has taken a significant step toward modernising agricultural regulation with the release of the Draft Pesticides Management Bill, 2025, inviting comments and suggestions from stakeholders and the general public. The initiative, announced by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, aims to replace the outdated Insecticides Act of 1968 and associated rules from 1971 — legislation that has long governed pesticide regulation in the country.
Framed as a farmer-centric and reform-oriented law, the draft bill is designed to bring transparency and traceability into the pesticides lifecycle from production and distribution to quality control and usage. One of its key goals is to ensure that only quality-assured pesticides reach Indian farmers, thereby supporting crop health and farmer incomes while protecting consumer interests.
Among the notable proposals in the draft legislation is a strengthened regulatory framework to tackle the persistent challenge of spurious and substandard pesticide products. This includes stricter penalties for offences, provisions for compounding minor violations, and empowering state authorities to enforce compliance. The draft also emphasises mandatory accreditation of pesticide testing laboratories to guarantee reliability and scientific rigour in quality assessments.
In a bid to streamline processes, the bill underscores the use of technology and digital tools, potentially easing the compliance burden on industry participants while improving regulatory oversight. Designed with an eye on both ease of living for farmers and ease of doing business, the draft law seeks to balance efficient enforcement with a supportive environment for agri-input manufacturers and distributors.
As part of the pre-legislative consultation process, the draft bill and a prescribed template for submitting feedback have been made available on the Agriculture Ministry’s official portal. Comments and suggestions are being solicited until 4 February 2026, after which the government will review all inputs before finalising the legislation.
This move reinforces the government’s commitment to updating agricultural policy frameworks to meet contemporary challenges faced by farmers, traders and the broader agri-ecosystem.
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