Lok Sabha Question No. 406 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-07-20
Subject: Adulteration in Chemicals, Pesticides &Seeds
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Krishna Pal Singh Yadav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, COOPERATION AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 406 TO BE ANSWERED ON  20.07.2021

## ADULTERATION IN CHEMICALS, PESTICIDES &SEEDS

406. DR. KRISHNA PAL SINGH YADAV:

Will the Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी be pleased to state:

- (a) whether there is an urgent need for making strict provisions to check adulteration in chemicals, pesticides and seeds used as inputs by farmers in production of food items and food grains;
- (b) if so, the details of the steps taken to ensure the same; and
- (c) the details of the well-equipped laboratories with competent technicians to check the quality of products functioning in the country at present, State-wise?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE & FARMERS WELFARE

कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

(a) and (b): Fertilizers and pesticides are the chemicals use by the farmers in agriculture. In  order  to  ensure  supply  of  good  quality  of  fertilizers  to  farmers,  Government  has promulgated  the  Fertilizer  (Control)  Order,  1985  (FCO)  under  the  Essential  Commodities Act, 1955 (ECA), under which standards of various fertilizers have been prescribed. Clause 19 of FCO strictly prohibits sale of fertilizers not of prescribed standards. Any violation of the provision of FCO invokes administrative action under the FCO and penal action under the ECA. The punishment prescribed under the Act is of 3 months to 7 years.

The Insecticides Act, 1968 and the Insecticides Rules, 1971 made thereunder regulate the quality  of  pesticides.  The  Insecticide  Inspectors  appointed  by  the  Central  and  State Governments under the Act are vested with powers to search premises, seize documents, stop distribution or sale of insecticides within the area of their jurisdiction. At present, 10,672 officers of various State Governments and 191 officers of Central Government are notified as Insecticide Inspectors to check the quality of pesticides and its management. Insecticides Inspectors  conduct  routine/surprise  investigations  of  manufacturing  units/sale  points  and and  take  insecticide  samples  for  analysis  to  ascertain  the  quality  of  insecticides.  Such analysis is carried out by Insecticide Analysts appointed by Central or State Governments. Dispute  over analytical test  reports  are  resolved  through  confirmatory tests  in  the  Central Insecticides Laboratory (CIL). If insecticides samples are reported by Insecticides Analyst  to be misbranded, legal action is initiated against   the manufacturers or dealers or retailers. Show-cause notices are issued against them and prosecution for violation of provisions of Insecticides Act , 1968.

The legal instruments which regulate the seed quality are Seeds Act, 1966, Seed Rules,  1968  and  Seed  (Control)  Order,  1983.  Quality  regulation  is  achieved  through compulsory labeling and voluntary certification of seeds of notified kind/varieties. The State Governments appoint Seed Inspectors and Seed Analysts.

(c): There are 83 fertilizer testing laboratories in the country, 79 laboratories notified by the  State  Governments  and  4  laboratories  by  Central  Government,  with  total  annual analyzing capacity of 1.83 lakh samples. Under the FCO, minimum educational qualifications are prescribed for the Analyst. Training at Central Fertilizer Quality Control & Training Institute is mandatory for these analysts.

In respect of pesticides, 71 State Pesticide Testing Laboratories (SPTL) have been established  in  25  States  and  2  Union  Territories  with  a  total  annual  testing  capacity  of 77,040 samples. To supplement the resources of State/UT Governments, Central Government  has  established  two  Regional  Pesticides  Testing  Laboratories  (RPTLs)  at Chandigarh  and  Kanpur  and  one  Central  Insecticide  Laboratory  (CIL)  as  a  referral laboratory, with an annual testing capacity of 4,700 samples.

There  are  132  Seed  Testing  laboratories  across  the  country  to  ensure  the  seed quality.

The  state-wise  details  of  fertilizer  quality  control  laboratories,  pesticide  testing laboratories and seed testing laboratories is enclosed at Annexure-I. The details of national and central referral seed testing labs is given at Annexure-II

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## REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (C) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 406 FOR REPLY ON 20.7.2021

## STATE  WISE  DETAILS  OF  FERTILIZER  QUALITY  CONTROL  LABORATORIES  / PESTICIDE TESTING LABORATORIES / STATE SEED TESTING LABORATORIES

| S No   | State/UT            | No. of Fertilizer Quality Control Labs   | No. of Pesticide Testing Labs   | No. of State Seed Testing Labs   |
|--------|---------------------|------------------------------------------|---------------------------------|----------------------------------|
| 1      | Assam               | 1                                        | 1                               | 4                                |
| 2      | Bihar               | 1                                        | 1                               | 8                                |
| 3      | Jharkhand           | 1                                        | 1                               | 1                                |
| 4      | West Bengal         | 3                                        | 1                               | 6                                |
| 5      | Mizoram             | 1                                        | 1                               | 1                                |
| 6      | Tripura             | 1                                        | 1                               | 1                                |
| 7      | Odisha              | 4                                        | 1                               | 5                                |
| 8      | Haryana             | 3                                        | 4                               | 2                                |
| 9      | Himachal Pradesh    | 3                                        | 1                               | -                                |
| 10     | J&K                 | 2                                        | 2                               | 2                                |
| 11     | Punjab              | 2                                        | 3                               | -                                |
| 12     | Uttar Pradesh       | 5                                        | 4                               | 13                               |
| 13     | Uttrakhand          | 2                                        | 2                               | 6                                |
| 14     | Andhra Pradesh      | 4                                        | 5                               | 3                                |
| 15     | Telangana           | 2                                        | 2                               | 4                                |
| 16     | Karnataka           | 7                                        | 6                               | 8                                |
| 17     | Kerala              | 2                                        | 1                               | 2                                |
| 18     | Tamil Nadu          | 14                                       | 15                              | 33                               |
| 19     | Puducherry          | 1                                        | 1                               | 1                                |
| 20     | Gujarat             | 3                                        | 2                               | 3                                |
| 21     | Madhya Pradesh      | 4                                        | 1                               | 4                                |
| 22     | Chattisgarh         | 1                                        | 1                               | 1                                |
| 23     | Maharashtra         | 5                                        | 4                               | 8                                |
| 24     | Rajasthan           | 7                                        | 7                               | 8                                |
| 25     | Manipur             | -                                        | 1                               | -                                |
| 26     | Arunachal Pradesh   | -                                        | 1                               | -                                |
| 27     | Nagaland            | -                                        | 1                               | -                                |
| 28     | Meghalaya           | -                                        | -                               | 1                                |
| 29     | Delhi               | -                                        | -                               | 1                                |
| 30     | Government of India | 4                                        | 3                               | -                                |
|        | All India Total     | 83                                       | 74                              | 126                              |

## ANNEXURE-II

## REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (C) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 406 FOR REPLY ON 20.7.2021

| National Referral Laboratories to detect the presence or absence of GMPs &LMOs   | National Referral Laboratories to detect the presence or absence of GMPs &LMOs   | National Referral Laboratories to detect the presence or absence of GMPs &LMOs                            |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1.                                                                               | Andhra Pradesh                                                                   | DNA Fingerprinting and Transgenic Crop Monitoring Lab (DFTCML), Guntoor                                   |
| 2.                                                                               | New Delhi                                                                        | ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), Pusa Campus, New Delhi                           |
| 3.                                                                               | Kerala                                                                           | Export Inspection Agency (EIA), Kochi Laboratory (Kerala)                                                 |
| 4.                                                                               | Punjab                                                                           | Punjab Biotechnology Incubator (PBTI), Mohali (Punjab)                                                    |
| Central Referral Laboratories                                                    | Central Referral Laboratories                                                    | Central Referral Laboratories                                                                             |
| 1.                                                                               | Maharashtra                                                                      | ICAR-Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR), Nagpur - only to test the presence or absence Bt. Gene. |
| 2.                                                                               | Uttar Pradesh                                                                    | Central Seed Testing Laboratory, NSRTC, Varanasi (U.P.)                                                   |