New Delhi, Apr 24 (KNN) In a major move to curb fake and spurious pesticides, the government has cancelled the registrations of over 7,000 pesticide firms with the Central Insecticides Board (CIB) after enforcing Know Your Customer (KYC) norms.

Only 2,584 companies were found to be KYC compliant.

States have been advised to note that products from the non-compliant firms should not be marketed since their registrations are automatically cancelled, according to sources.

"Pesticides management is a focus area for the government due to rampant misuse of these chemicals. As a first step, we checked registrations against minimum KYC norms to identify genuine manufacturers. The number of KYC-compliant firms is now less than 2,600 out of nearly 10,000 earlier," said a senior official, reported BL.

The official said the KYC-compliant firms will help further regulate unnecessary pesticide usage. The government also plans to launch the Indian Pesticides Management System portal to better track sales and distribution data.

Concerns remain about easy access to hazardous pesticides and lack of proper advisory for farmers on integrated pest management solutions.

Industry experts welcomed the verification exercise to weed out unscrupulous players making illegal, substandard or counterfeit pesticide products. However, they urged the government to replicate this for fertilisers and bio-stimulants as well.

(KNN Bureau)