Guidelines for Evaluation of Nano-based Agri-input, food products in India' released

Guidelines for Evaluation of Nano-based Agri-input, food products in India' released

The ‘Guidelines for Evaluation of Nano-based Agri-input and food products in India’ was released by the Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and the Union Minister for Science and Technology, Dr Harsh Vardhan on 7 July 2020 via a video link.

Key Points:

• The guidelines will provide assistance to the regulators and policymakers for framing provision, which will be effective for the future nano-based products in the food and agri-input sector of India.
• The guidelines will also provide motivation and support to the Indian innovators and industries for the development and commercialisation of new products and formulations based on nano-technology in these sectors.
• Nutrient run-off into surface water and groundwater can be reduced substantially by utilising the nano-nutrients in comparison to the case where chemical inputs are used in bulk form resulting in environmental pollution.
• The guidelines will also ensure the safety, quality and efficiency assessment of nano-formulations that have the potential to be commercialised.
• The guidelines will also provide consistent, predictable and transparent pathways for the regulation of nano-based food products and agri-inputs across the country.
• The guidelines will also help in boosting the efforts under the goals of ‘Doubling Farming Income by 2022’ and ‘National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture’.