Draft Pesticide Management Bill 2025 – Key Provisions and Global Comparisons

 

Source: Policy Prism Artwork

Draft Pesticide Management Bill 2025

The Government of India, on 7^th January 2026, released a fresh draft of the Pesticide Management Bill. The bill is an attempt to replace the 1968 Insecticide Act and its underlying Insecticides Rules of 1971. Since 2000-01 many attempts have been made to amend the 1968 Act and the 1971 rules, but to no avail.

Also Read: Draft Seeds Bill 2025

Key Provisions of the Draft Pesticide Management Bill 2025

• Ensuring quality and safe pesticides reach farmers
• Stricter regulatory controls and oversight
• Increased transparency and traceability across pesticide lifecycle
• Adoption of digital solutions for documentation, automation and regulatory enforcement
• Higher penalties for violation to deter production or sale of fake pesticides and allows for enhanced penalties for compounding offenses as well
• Introduction of mandatory accreditation of testing laboratories

A Comparison of India’s Pesticide Management Bill and other jurisdictions’

Criteria	India	EU	US	Australia
The Act	Pesticide Management Bill, 2025	Regulation (EC) no. 1107/2009 and 396/2005 on plant protection products	Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)	Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code (Agvet Code)
Regulatory Authority	Central Government	EU Commission and European Food Safety Authority	Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)	Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA)
Registration	Formal using Digital means	Peer review by EFSA and member states then finally approved by EU Commission	EPA registration for general or restricted use	Risk based evaluation
Evaluation	Not specifically mentioned	Periodic reviews and approvals	Evaluation happens when new evidence emerges	Periodic risks reviews for specific chemicals
Enforcement	Penalties for spurious products and enhanced penalties for compound violations	Sanctions, removal of approvals	Criminal and civil penalties	Revocations and penalties

Source: Policy Prism Compilation

• https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2026/jan/doc202617752901.pdf
• https://www.efsa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/corporate_publications/files/Pesticides-ebook-180424.pdf
• https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/federal-insecticide-fungicide-and-rodenticide-act-fifra-and-federal-facilities
• https://www.apvma.gov.au/about/agvet-chemical-regulation

Also Read: Removal of Quality Control Orders

Benefits of the Draft Pesticide Management Bill 2025

1. Promotes ease of doing business by simplifying procedures and compliance
2. Encourage farmer’s welfare by reducing their exposure to spurious substandard and counterfeit products
3. Enables digital licensing, traceability and monitoring leading to faster approvals and better coordination among authorities
4. Improves quality control and credibility of Indian products
5. Encourages formalisation and innovation in agrochemical sector
6. Aligns with global best practices

Overall, the bill is an advancement to government’s focus on promoting farmer’s welfare. After the recent announcement of Draft Seeds bill, the Pesticide Management Bill 2025 is necessary step to protect farmers against spurious products which are major causes of crop loss.