Parliament Question: Pesticide Registration and Licensing System

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3953 ANSWERED ON 17TH MARCH, 2026 PESTICIDE REGISTRATION AND LICENSING SYSTEM 3953. SHRI KUNDURU RAGHUVEER: Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ(cid:874)ष एवं (cid:873)कसान क(cid:227)याण म(cid:287)ं ी be pleased to state:- (a) whether the Government has reviewed the functioning of the online pesticide registration and licensing system to identify operational and technical gaps across States; (b) the present status of implementation of the online system in Telangana, particularly in Nalgonda district, including the number of registered dealers, manufacturers and pending applications; (c) whether delays, portal-related technical issues or lack of coordination between Central and State authorities have affected timely approvals and availability of approved pesticides during peak agricultural seasons; (d) whether cases of spurious or unregistered pesticides have increased due to such gaps and the action taken thereon; and (e) the concrete corrective measures proposed to strengthen digital monitoring, enforcement, and transparency to protect farmers from crop loss and financial hardship? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ(cid:874)ष एवं (cid:873)कसान क(cid:227)याण रा(cid:207)य म(cid:287)ं ी (SHRI BHAGIRATH CHOUDHARY) (a): Registration of pesticides in country is granted by the Registration Committee (RC) through online Portal i.e. Comprehensive Registration of Pesticides (CROP). Further, in order to ensure real time monitoring of the supply chain including production, distribution and sale of pesticides in different States across the country, DA&FW has developed Integrated Pesticide Management System (IPMS). IPMS portal aims to map all pesticide dealers across States and Union Territories and to include all manufacturers, formulators, and importers on a single digital platform to monitor the supply chain and ensure traceability of pesticides stocks and inventories. This will help the farmers to identify the genuine pesticides dealers in their regions, thereby ensuring the availability of quality pesticide to the farmers across the States.(b): Various State Governments have their own online digital platform or manual system of Licensing under the Insecticides Act, 1968 and the Rules, 1971. Telangana State has already implemented the Online License Management System for pesticides (https://agriolms.telangana.gov.in). As per the information received from the State, Nalgonda district has 1307 registered pesticide dealers, 01 pesticide manufacturers and 06 applications are pending. (c) & (d): No information regarding non- availability of approved pesticides during peak agricultural seasons is available with the Department. Further, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare ensures the availability of quality pesticides to farmers across the country through the implementation of provisions of the Insecticides Act, 1968 and the Insecticides Rules, 1971. A total of 12,511 Insecticide Inspectors have been appointed by the Central and State Governments for conducting quality checks of pesticides. These inspectors routinely draw samples from manufacturing units and retail sale points within their jurisdiction to curb the sale of misbranded pesticides. Collected samples are analysed by the Insecticide Analysts appointed by the Central or State Governments. If any sample fails the prescribed quality standards, prosecution is initiated against the concerned manufacturer or dealer as per the provisions of the Act. In the last five years (2021-22 to 2025-26), total 3,36,560 samples were analyzed, of which 8942 samples were found misbranded. A total of 1,842 prosecution cases were filed against firms involved in the manufacture, sale, or illegal import of substandard or low-quality pesticides, and 141 cases resulted in conviction by various Courts of Law. (e): Central Government vide Gazette Notification No. G.S.R. 674 (E) dated 18.09.2025 has proposed to digitalize the licensing system for manufacture, sale, stock, distribute, exhibit for sale of pesticides as well as for quality control mechanism. Further, to bring more transparency, provisions have been made for digital record keeping and reporting by Manufacturers/Dealers/Pest Control Operators/ Insecticide Inspectors/ Analyst. ******