Licensing Process for Household Pesticide Sale and Storage Simplified, Benefiting 40 Lakh Retailers

19 May 2026, New Delhi: The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has significantly simplified the licensing process for the sale and storage of household pesticides as part of a broader reform initiative aimed at improving ease of doing business and making agricultural governance more transparent, technology-driven and efficient. 

The reforms were reviewed during a high-level meeting chaired by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who said the ministry is accelerating changes under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Reform Express” initiative to simplify procedures for farmers, traders and stakeholders associated with the agriculture sector. 

During the meeting, Agriculture Secretary Atish Chandra informed that the application form required for obtaining a licence for the sale and storage of household pesticides has been reduced from three pages to a single-page format. In another major change, the traditional practice of providing physical leaflets with pesticide products has been discontinued and replaced with QR codes printed directly on product labels, eliminating additional paperwork and making the process more convenient for retailers and consumers alike. 

The reform is expected to benefit more than 40 lakh retailers and grocery shopkeepers across the country who sell household pest control products such as mosquito repellent mats, coils, liquid vaporisers and cockroach sprays. 

The ministry also reviewed several additional reform measures aimed at improving efficiency in the agriculture sector. Officials informed the meeting that the registration process for new fertilisers under the Fertilizer Control Order (FCO), 1985 has also been simplified by removing the earlier dual approval mechanism involving both the Technical Committee and the Central Fertilizer Committee. Under the revised system, only the Central Fertilizer Committee will provide approvals, and 19 manufacturers have already benefited from the streamlined process. 

Further reforms have also been introduced in agricultural commodity imports through digital integration between the Plant Quarantine Management System (PQMS) and the Indian Customs Electronic Data Interchange Gateway (ICEGATE) across all 649 customs ports in the country. Importers will now be able to submit a single application through ICEGATE and receive the Import Release Order directly through their login portal. 

The government has also abolished the EXIM Committee and removed the mandatory “Prior Recommendation” requirement for the import and export of seeds and planting materials, making the process faster and more convenient for the industry. 

Officials also reviewed the Bharat-VISTAAR AI in Agriculture platform, which was launched in February 2026 to provide farmers with agriculture-related information through a single digital platform. According to officials, the platform has already received more than 44 lakh queries and is helping farmers avoid visiting multiple platforms for information. 

During the meeting, Shivraj Singh Chouhan directed officials to intensify reforms further to promote transparency, technological efficiency and good governance in the agriculture sector. He said the reforms are intended to make procedures simpler, faster and more effective for farmers, traders, entrepreneurs and all agriculture stakeholders.

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