Draft Pesticides Management Bill 2025: Decriminalization and Ease of Doing Business

Syllabus: Agriculture; Governance

Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare

Why in news?

Government has released the Draft Pesticides Management Bill, 2025 for public comments, intended to replace the Insecticides Act, 1968.

⚛️Static Concepts

Integrated Pest ManagementInsecticides Act 1968Model Farming Acts

📌

Objective: Replace Insecticides Act, 1968 and Insecticides Rules, 1971.
Key Reform: Decriminalizes petty offences to promote Ease of Doing Business.
Farmer-Centric provisions: Transparency, traceability, and mandatory accreditation of testing laboratories.
Enforcement: Enhanced penalties for spurious pesticides; provisions for compounding of offences defined by State-level authorities.

⚠️

Examiner's Trap: The Bill replaces the INSECTICIDES ACT, 1968, not the Pesticides Act (there was no such previous act by that name).

Replaces 1968 Act

Mandatory lab accreditation included

GS-3: Agriculture Inputs; Regulatory Frameworks.

Ease of Doing Business: Decriminalization of minor offences removes fear of prosecution for administrative lapses.
Quality Assurance: Mandatory accreditation of labs ensures only quality pesticides reach farmers.
Deterrence: Higher penalties for spurious pesticides protect farmers from financial loss and crop failure.

Source