January 12, 2026

Current Affairs

Recasting India’s Pesticide Governance Framework

Context: The Union Government has invited public feedback on the Draft Pesticides Management Bill, 2025, prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW). The Bill seeks to repeal and replace the Insecticides Act, 1968 and the Insecticides Rules, 1971, which are considered inadequate to address contemporary challenges such as spurious pesticides, environmental risks, and global trade requirements.

Rationale and Objectives

The primary objective of the Draft Bill is to modernise pesticide regulation and ensure effective management across the entire lifecycle—from manufacture and import to distribution, use, and disposal. Recognising pesticides as a matter of national importance, Section 2 explicitly brings the regulation of the pesticide industry under the Union Government, citing public interest.

This centralisation aims to ensure uniform standards, prevent regulatory arbitrage among States, and strengthen accountability.

Institutional Architecture

The Bill introduces a two-tier regulatory structure:

Central Pesticides Board (CPB)
- An advisory body.
- Includes representatives from Agriculture, Health, and Environment ministries.
- Responsible for recommending safety norms, disposal mechanisms, and policy guidance.
Registration Committee (RC)
- The executive authority.
- Evaluates applications for pesticide registration based on safety, efficacy, and necessity.

This separation of advisory and executive roles is intended to enhance regulatory clarity and scientific rigour.

Key Provisions of the Draft Bill

Curbing Spurious and Counterfeit Pesticides:
Stricter penalties and tighter controls are introduced to address the widespread issue of substandard and fake products, which harm crops, farmers, and consumers.
Decriminalisation of Minor Offences:
Procedural and technical lapses are made compoundable, reflecting the government’s ease-of-doing-business and ease-of-living approach.
Time-bound Registration:
Decisions on pesticide registration must be taken within 12–18 months. For generic pesticides, approval is deemed after 18 months if no decision is communicated, ensuring regulatory certainty.
Digital Traceability:
Mandatory digital licensing and technology-enabled supply-chain tracking are proposed to enhance transparency and product authentication.
Laboratory Accreditation:
All pesticide testing laboratories must be accredited, improving data credibility and enabling global benchmarking.
Enhanced Safety Standards:
Provisions cover worker training, occupational health, and the protection of beneficial organisms, particularly pollinators.
Promotion of Sustainable Alternatives:
The Bill provides legal backing to promote biopesticides, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), and traditional knowledge-based solutions, aligning with sustainable agriculture goals.

Significance

The Draft Pesticides Management Bill, 2025 represents a shift from a narrow “insecticide control” approach to a holistic pesticide governance framework, balancing farmer needs, public health, environmental protection, and innovation.

Inhalable Microplastics: A Growing Air Pollution Threat in India

Context: Emerging scientific evidence indicates that inhalable microplastics have become a significant but under-recognised air pollutant in Indian cities, aggravating the public-health burden already posed by particulate matter (PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀). These particles are ≤10 micrometres in size, enabling them to bypass upper respiratory defences and penetrate deep into lung tissue, resulting in chronic exposure.

Why Inhalable Microplastics Are a Serious Concern in India

High Urban Exposure:

A multi-city study by IISER Kolkata found an average airborne microplastic concentration of 8.8 µg/m³, implying that an average Indian inhales around 132 µg daily. This represents a continuous toxic load comparable to other major airborne pollutants.

Seasonal Amplification:

Winter conditions significantly worsen exposure. Evening concentrations rise by 74% during winter (32.7 particles/m³ compared to 18.8 in non-winter months), aligning with India’s broader seasonal smog phenomenon driven by temperature inversion and stagnant air.

City-Level Disparities:

Megacities show alarmingly high concentrations. Delhi (14.18 µg/m³) and Kolkata (14.23 µg/m³) record some of the highest exposure levels, reflecting dense traffic, waste mismanagement, and industrial activity.

Trojan-Horse Toxicity:

Microplastics act as carriers of heavy metals (lead, cadmium) and endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as diethyl phthalates. This amplifies toxicity beyond the plastic particles themselves.

Disease Vector Risk:

Studies have identified inhalable microplastics carrying fungal spores (e.g., Aspergillus fumigatus) and antibiotic-resistance genes, increasing the risk of respiratory infections and treatment failures.

Occupational Vulnerability:

Traffic police, construction workers, and street vendors face heightened exposure, particularly from tyre-wear microplastics, which are associated with carcinogenic compounds.

Measures Taken by India to Curb Microplastic Pollution

Single-Use Plastic Ban (2022): Prohibits identified plastic items such as straws, cutlery, thin bags, and thermocol to reduce plastic fragmentation.
Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rules: Enforce Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), obligating producers to collect and recycle plastic waste.
Microbead Prohibition: Bans plastic microbeads in cosmetics and personal-care products, eliminating a direct microplastic source.
National Action Plan for Marine Litter: Aims to curb plastic inflow into rivers and oceans, indirectly reducing secondary microplastic formation.

About Microplastics

Microplastics are plastic particles smaller than 5 mm and are classified as:

Primary microplastics: Intentionally manufactured small particles (e.g., cosmetic microbeads, synthetic fibres).
Secondary microplastics: Result from degradation of larger plastic items due to UV radiation, heat, and mechanical abrasion.

Conclusion

Inhalable microplastics represent a new frontier of air pollution risk in India, intersecting environmental degradation with public health, occupational safety, and antimicrobial resistance.

Addressing this invisible pollutant requires integrating microplastics into air-quality monitoring, strengthening plastic governance, and prioritising research on long-term health impacts.