Government invites public comments on Draft Pesticides Management Bill, 2025

1. At a Glance

• Draft Pesticides Management Bill, 2025 is a proposed central legislation by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW) to replace the Insecticides Act, 1968 and Insecticides Rules, 1971 [S1][S2].
• Aims to ensure quality pesticides for farmers, decriminalise petty offences, and promote Ease of Living & Ease of Doing Business [S1].
• Relevant for GS-II (Government policies) and GS-III (Agriculture, food security, environment); integrates farmer protection with regulatory modernisation.

2. Why in the News

• On 7 January 2026, the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare released the draft bill for pre-legislative consultation, inviting public comments by 4 February 2026 [S1].
• Marks the latest iteration after the earlier Pesticides Management Bill, 2020, which lapsed without enactment [S2].

3. Background & Evolution

• Insecticides Act, 1968 + Insecticides Rules, 1971: existing >50-year-old framework, narrowly focused on "insecticides" [S1].
• Pesticides Management Bill, 2008 — first attempt; lapsed.
• Pesticides Management Bill, 2020 — introduced in Rajya Sabha; criticised by industry/civil society; not passed.
• 2025 Draft — fresh redraft incorporating digital tools, traceability, decriminalisation, biological pesticides [S1][S2].

4. Core Static Facts

• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare; Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare [S1].
• Replaces: Insecticides Act, 1968 and Insecticides Rules, 1971 [S1].
• Public comment deadline: 4 February 2026 [S1].
• Scope expansion: covers all pesticides — chemical and biological (incl. plant growth regulators, post-harvest protectants, household-use pesticides, storage/transport substances) [S2].
• Key features [S1]:
• Transparency & traceability in pesticide supply chain.
• Digital/technology-driven processes for registration, licensing.
• Mandatory accreditation of testing laboratories.
• Compounding of offences with enhanced penalties, to be defined by State-level authorities.
• Stricter control on spurious pesticides through higher penalties.
• Decriminalisation of petty offences.

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Economic / Agricultural - Spurious/substandard pesticides cause significant yield loss; stricter penalties reduce farmer risk [S1]. - Decriminalisation of petty offences eases compliance burden on agro-input MSMEs and dealers [S1].

Legal / Constitutional - Agriculture is a State subject (Entry 14, List II), but trade & commerce in poisons fall under central jurisdiction; the Bill leverages central regulation while devolving compounding powers to States [S1]. - Aligns with Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 philosophy of decriminalising minor offences.

Environmental - Brings biopesticides explicitly under the regulatory net — supports integrated pest management (IPM) and reduced chemical load [S2]. - Traceability enables monitoring of banned/restricted molecules (cf. 27 pesticides under review since 2020).

Scientific / Technological - Mandatory lab accreditation raises quality assurance. - Digital registration aligns with Digital Agriculture Mission and AgriStack.

Governance - Pre-legislative consultation policy (2014) compliance — draft on Ministry website with 30+ days comment window [S1]. - Critics (PRS-flagged civil-society analyses) argue the 2025 draft retains gaps of the 2020 version on liability, compensation to farmers, and independence of the registration committee [S2].

6. Recent Developments (last 12-18 months)

• 7 January 2026: PIB release of draft Bill for stakeholder consultation [S1].
• Parallel draft legislations in the agri-input space: Draft Seeds Bill, 2025 released earlier (November 2025) [S1].
• Deadline for public submission: 4 February 2026 [S1].

7. Prelims Hooks

• Draft Pesticides Management Bill, 2025 is prepared by the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare under MoA&FW [S1].
• It seeks to repeal the Insecticides Act, 1968 and Insecticides Rules, 1971 [S1].
• Public comment deadline: 4 February 2026 [S1].
• Bill expands the regulated category from "insecticides" to all pesticides including biopesticides, plant growth regulators, post-harvest protectants [S2].
• Compounding of offences under the Bill is to be operationalised by State-level authorities [S1].
• Bill mandates accreditation of pesticide testing laboratories [S1].
• The bill promotes Ease of Living and Ease of Doing Business by decriminalising petty offences [S1].
• It follows the lapsed Pesticides Management Bill, 2020 [S2].
• Agriculture falls under State List (Entry 14) but the Centre legislates on pesticides via List-III / poisons-related entries.
• Draft released as part of the Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy, 2014 [S1].

8. Mains Relevance

• GS-II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors; pre-legislative consultation; cooperative federalism.
• GS-III: Issues of buffer stocks and food security; agricultural marketing; environmental pollution; technology missions in agriculture.
• Possible question stems: 1. "The Draft Pesticides Management Bill, 2025 attempts to balance farmer welfare with ease of doing business. Critically examine its key provisions vis-à-vis the Insecticides Act, 1968." 2. "Decriminalisation of petty offences in economic legislations has gained policy momentum. Discuss with reference to the Pesticides Management Bill, 2025 and Jan Vishwas Act, 2023." 3. "Regulation of agro-chemicals in India requires a science-based, federal-friendly framework. Comment."

9. Related Topics to Study Next

• Insecticides Act, 1968 — predecessor statute being repealed.
• Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 — same decriminalisation philosophy.
• Draft Seeds Bill, 2025 — parallel agri-input legislation.
• Integrated Pest Management (IPM) & biopesticides — substantive policy backdrop.
• Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy, 2014 — procedural backbone for the draft release.
• Central Insecticides Board & Registration Committee (CIB&RC) — current regulator under 1968 Act.
• Stockholm Convention on POPs / Rotterdam Convention (PIC) — international pesticide regulation.
• PM-PRANAM & natural farming schemes — chemical-input rationalisation policy.

10. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• Confusing nodal ministry: it is MoA&FW, NOT MoEFCC or Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers.
• The Bill replaces the 1968 Act, it does not amend it.
• "Pesticides" in the new Bill is broader than "insecticides" of 1968 — covers biopesticides, plant growth regulators, etc.
• Comment deadline is 4 February 2026, not 2 February (some secondary sources cite the wrong date).
• The 2025 draft is not yet an Act — still in pre-legislative consultation stage; do not refer to it as enacted law.
• Compounding of offences is devolved to State authorities, not the Centre.

11. Sources

• [S1] Government invites public comments on Draft Pesticides Management Bill, 2025 — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2212144 — (tier: 1)
• [S2] Pesticides Management Bill-2025 (Draft PDF) — https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2026/jan/doc202617752901.pdf — (tier: 1)