New molecule registration system is evolving fast in India

"As the Chairman of the committee for registrations, I have witnessed 56 meetings happening in the last four years. More than 32 new molecules have been registered and new applications are being increasingly accepted for assessment and approvals. Many new bio-pesticides too have been registered. Our larger goal is to implement the substitution of import and promote the 'Make in India' in real sense, says Dr. S. K. Malhotra, Chairman of the Registration Committee; and also the Agriculture and Horticulture Commissioner in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.

Speaking at the virtual conference on the sidelines of CropLife India's 41st Annual General Meeting, Dr. Malhotra listed out the renewed efforts by the government.

"We are working on ease of doing business and data requirements for registrations have been rationalized. While we might allow minimum data but at the same time we are not compromising on safety. First draft of data recommendations has been finalized based on the suggestions we have received so far. About 3 months back, we had a 3 day long discussion with industry. We named it 3D programme, i.e. Discuss, Decide and Deliver. 50% suggestions were resolved on the spot and 25% were resolved later as these required further discussion. The remaining 25% will be addressed after proper consultation. An online system has been set up for fast tracking the registration process. Several problems that were being faced earlier, have been rectified. We are constantly upgrading the software to make the experience smoother and it will take a few more months to achieve that,” said Dr Malhotra.

As per Dr. Malhotra, out of the current 48 guidelines document for new molecule registrations, his committee intends to make it concise by bringing it down to 22 guidelines. He will be chairing the meeting on 5th October to take it forward.

Pointing out the need for newer molecules, he said, "There is an upsurge of demand for safe food crops. The Indian industry is coming forward with new molecules and it is very encouraging. Biopesticides are in demand and industry too has registered several green chemistries. Molecules based on old chemistry are higher in dose and newer are low in dose. Therefore, by adopting the newer ones, we can lower the burden on the environment. At the same time, we need to strike a balance between old and new based on requirements. Crop grouping has been considered for chemicals as illegal use might happen because of not being registered by committee.”

“The Ministry of Agriculture has taken into consideration many suggestions and we need to incorporate the experience from the world level too to determine whether a few pesticides are found to be toxic. In this direction, we have banned 18 pesticides last year. The Toxicology protocol document has been harmonized. We need to further see what kind of practices are there worldwide that need to be considered for wider acceptance. Bioequivalence studies need to be undertaken in specific cases. There are many variabilities and we need to look at several areas," Dr. Malhotra mentioned further.

"The use of drone technology needs support from the agrochemical industry. Since we are discussing this too at our upcoming meeting, we would appreciate it if the industry comes up with suggestions on calibration matrix, dosage amount and validation strategy," he concluded.

Endorsing Dr. Malhotra’s views, Ravi Prakash, Plant Protection Adviser, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare spoke on the ways in which the government is strengthening the pesticide testing infrastructure.

"We have a Central Insecticide Board and a 5-member Registration Committee. We have 958 pesticides and 738 formulations that are registered. More than 11,000 certificates have been issued and we have 70 state pesticide labs to maintain quality control. There are 190 quality inspectors deployed by the central government and more than 10,000 quality inspectors by the state government. 60,000 samples were collected and 1,100 were found to be spurious and 300 cases were prosecuted,” said Prakash.

“There is a monitoring of pendency on a weekly basis. Despite having limited availability of manpower at CIB, we have still been moving fast to enable the addressing of the concerns in an improved manner. We are trying to fast-track the registration of molecules so that farmers can access them at the earliest. For toxicology units, we have added additional manpower of 30 senior technical officers and toxicology experts for faster examination and clearance of registrations. We have also roped in entomology and weed science experts,” added Prakash.