Centre proposes complete ban on Carbosulfan insecticide over health, environmental risks
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has proposed a complete ban on Carbosulfan, a widely used carbamate insecticide, citing risks to human and animal health and the environment.
The proposal covers a full prohibition on the import, manufacture, sale, transport, distribution and use of Carbosulfan from the date the ban order is published, along with recall of all existing certificates of registration for the chemical.
An Expert Committee, constituted on 14 January 2026, reviewed available safety data and studies and submitted its report on 12 June 2026, after which the Registration Committee recommended the complete ban.
The review noted that Carbosulfan is intrinsically highly hazardous to birds, pollinators, aquatic organisms and other non-target species, and that there is no specific antidote to reverse Carbosulfan poisoning; the agrochemical industry has flagged concerns over limited pest-control alternatives and possible cost impacts on farmers.
The Insecticides Act, 1968 — Regulatory Framework for Pesticides
The Insecticides Act, 1968 (Act No. 46 of 1968) is the principal legislation regulating the import, manufacture, sale, transport, distribution and use of insecticides in India, with the objective of preventing risk to human beings and animals. It creates a registration-based regime administered through central bodies.
Key Details
- Establishes the Central Insecticides Board (CIB), an advisory body on technical matters, and the Registration Committee (RC), which registers insecticides after verifying safety and efficacy claims — together often referred to as CIBRC.
- Section 27 empowers the Central or State Government to prohibit the sale, distribution or use of an insecticide (or a specific batch) for up to 60 days pending investigation, where there is a public-safety risk; a permanent ban follows a fuller review process.
- Every insecticide must be registered under the Act before it can be legally manufactured, imported, or sold in India; the ban proposal requires recalling all existing certificates of registration.
- Past pesticides banned or restricted under this framework include DDT (for agricultural use), Endosulfan, and Monocrotophos.
The proposed Carbosulfan ban follows this statutory route — an Expert Committee review, followed by a Registration Committee recommendation and a draft government order — exactly the process the 1968 Act prescribes for withdrawing a registered insecticide from use.
Hazard Classification of Agrochemicals
Pesticides are classified by toxicity/hazard level using globally recognised systems, which inform national regulatory decisions such as bans or restricted use. Carbosulfan's flagged risks — to birds, pollinators (e.g., bees), and aquatic organisms — are examples of "non-target species" toxicity, a key criterion regulators weigh alongside human health risk.
Key Details
- The WHO Recommended Classification of Pesticides by Hazard is one internationally used framework classifying pesticides from Class Ia (extremely hazardous) to Class III (slightly hazardous) and unlikely to present acute hazard.
- Carbamate insecticides (the chemical class Carbosulfan belongs to) act by inhibiting the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, disrupting nerve signal transmission in target and non-target organisms alike — the same broad mode of action as organophosphates.
- Absence of a specific antidote (as noted for Carbosulfan) is a key factor regulators weigh in assessing whether restricted use is sufficient or a complete ban is warranted.
The health ministry's stated grounds for banning Carbosulfan — high hazard to non-target species and the lack of an antidote for poisoning — are the same categories of evidence used globally to justify pesticide bans, reflecting a hazard-based (not just usage-based) regulatory approach.
Pollinator and Non-Target Species Protection
Pesticide impact on pollinators such as bees is an emerging regulatory concern globally, given pollinators' role in agricultural productivity and ecosystem services. India does not yet have a dedicated pollinator-protection statute, but pesticide-registration decisions increasingly account for such ecological risk.
Key Details
- Pollinators contribute to the production of a significant share of global food crops that depend on animal pollination (frequently cited estimates put this around one-third of crop production by volume).
- Systemic insecticides (absorbed into plant tissue, including carbamates and neonicotinoids) pose a particular risk to pollinators feeding on treated plants' nectar and pollen.
Carbosulfan's flagged toxicity to pollinators is cited as one of the environmental grounds for the proposed ban, linking pesticide regulation to the broader UPSC-relevant theme of ecosystem services and agricultural sustainability.
- Carbosulfan is a carbamate-class insecticide; the Expert Committee reviewing it was constituted on 14 January 2026 and submitted its report on 12 June 2026.
- The Insecticides Act, 1968 (Act No. 46 of 1968) governs pesticide registration in India via the Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee (CIBRC).
- Section 27 of the Act allows a temporary prohibition (up to 60 days) on an insecticide pending investigation; the current proposal seeks a complete/permanent ban.
- Previously restricted/banned pesticides in India under this framework include DDT (agricultural use), Endosulfan and Monocrotophos.