Public feedback invited on draft Pesticides Management Bill to regulate pesticides

The Hindu
The Hindu
3h ago
The Union Agriculture Ministry invited public comments on a draft Pesticides Management Bill to replace the Insecticides Act, 1968 and regulate pesticides to ensure safe and effective use while minimising risks to people, animals, other organisms, and the environment.
Public feedback invited on draft Pesticides Management Bill to regulate pesticides
A What happened
The Union Agriculture Ministry invited public comments on the draft Pesticides Management Bill, which aims to repeal the Insecticides Act of 1968. The draft Bill regulates the manufacture, import, packaging, labelling, storage, advertisement, sale, transport, distribution, use and disposal of pesticides to ensure availability of safe and effective pesticides. It seeks to minimise risk to human beings, animals, living organisms other than pests, and the environment, and promotes pesticides that are biological and based on traditional knowledge. The draft includes provisions for a Central Pesticides Board, a Registration Committee, a national digital register of pesticides, and penalties for pesticide use or handling that results in death or grievous hurt.
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Key insights

  • 1

    Centralised oversight and registration framework: The draft Bill sets up a Central Pesticides Board for technical advice and a Registration Committee with authority to grant, review, amend, or cancel pesticide registrations and maintain a national digital register.

  • 2

    Expanded regulation across the pesticide lifecycle: The draft Bill covers regulation of manufacture through disposal, including advertising standards and environmentally sound disposal criteria.

  • 3

    Criminal penalties tied to severe harm: The draft Bill specifies imprisonment and fines for pesticide handling or use that results in death or grievous hurt.

Takeaways

Public comments are being sought on a draft law that would replace the 1968 insecticides framework with a broader pesticide regulation, registration, and penalty system focused on safety and risk reduction.

Topics

Climate & Environment Agriculture World & Politics Policy & Regulation

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