A bill to regulate pesticides business and compensate farmers in case of losses from usage of spurious agro-chemicals will be introduced in the Budget session of Parliament, the government said on Wednesday.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved Pesticides Management Bill, 2020, which seeks to replace the Insecticides Act, 1968, for regulating the pesticide sector by fixing prices and setting up an authority.
It would also regulate advertisements of pesticides and provides for heavy penalty as well as jail term for any violation of the law.
“As far as farmers are concerned because that is our primary concern, Pesticides Management Bill, 2020 will be introduced in this session of Parliament. Today, pesticide business is regulated by 1968 rules which have become age old and needs immediate rewriting,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters.