Overview
- The Union Ministry of Agriculture published a draft notification on Tuesday, July 14, proposing an immediate ban on the manufacture, import, transport, distribution, sale and use of paraquat dichloride.
- The move follows reports from a government expert committee and the Registration Committee that cited documented poisoning cases, high fatalities and the absence of a specific antidote.
- Stakeholders have 30 days to file objections before the order is finalised and, once final, all paraquat registrations will be cancelled with manufacturers and dealers given three months to surrender certificates.
- Several states including Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Kerala had earlier imposed temporary curbs, and Syngenta said it would stop global paraquat production by end‑June 2026 though other makers may still supply the chemical.
- Doctors and public‑health advocates say the ban will reduce easy access that fuels suicides and accidental poisonings and could prompt fresh reviews of other controversial pesticides still permitted in India.