Central Government Nominates New Members to Central Insecticides Board Under Insecticides Act

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, through the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, issued a notification on March 6, 2026, to reconstitute the membership of the Central Insecticides Board. Exercising its statutory authority under the Insecticides Act, 1968, the Central Government nominated several high-ranking state officials and scientific experts to the Board for a tenure of three years. This administrative action was formalized through Notification S.O. 1177(E), which introduced specific amendments to the principal notification dated February 27, 1971. The changes took effect immediately upon their publication in the Official Gazette.

The new nominations included the Director of Health Services from the Government of Odisha and the Directors of Agriculture from the Governments of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Furthermore, the government appointed specialized scientific leadership to the Board, specifically naming the Director of the ICMR-National Institute of Occupational Hazard (NIOH) in Ahmedabad and the Director of the Council of Scientific Industrial Research-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT) in Hyderabad. These appointments substituted previous entries in the statutory framework to ensure updated institutional representation across the regulatory body.

The legislation provided: “In exercise of the powers conferred by section 4 of the Insecticides Act, 1968 (46 of 1968), the Central Government hereby nominates the following persons as members to the Central Insecticides Board for a period of three years from the date of publication of this notification and for this purpose makes the following further amendments in the notification of the Government of India... dated the 27th February, 1971.”

The legislative intent behind these nominations resided in the necessity of maintaining a robust technical advisory body to oversee the regulation of insecticides in India. Under the Insecticides Act, 1968, the Central Insecticides Board serves as a critical statutory authority (a body established by law) tasked with advising the Central and State Governments on technical matters arising out of the administration of the Act. This includes assessing the risks to human beings or animals and preventing the hazards associated with the use of chemical substances in agriculture and public health. By including state-level directors of health and agriculture alongside national research heads, the government aimed to bridge the gap between regional implementation and central scientific oversight.

The statutory framework established by the 1968 Act requires periodic updates to the Board’s composition to reflect changes in institutional leadership and to address evolving safety standards. The previous legal position, governed by the 1971 notification and its subsequent amendments, was updated to reflect the current incumbents of these specific roles. This ensures that the enforcement mechanisms and policy decisions regarding insecticide registration and safety are guided by the most relevant administrative and scientific authorities. The notification specifically substituted serial numbers seventeen through twenty of the original 1971 order, thereby maintaining the continuity of the Board’s advisory functions while refreshing its personnel.

Keywords: Insecticides Act 1968, Central Insecticides Board, Ministry of Agriculture, Statutory Nomination, Plant Protection, ICMR, CSIR, Odisha Health Services, Maharashtra Agriculture, Tamil Nadu Agriculture

Geo Tags: India
District: Not Applicable