The Insecticides Act, 1968

(1) This Act may be called the Insecticides Act, 1968. (2) It extends to the whole of India. (3) It shall come into force on such date1 as the Central Government may, by notification in theOfficial Gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed for different States and for differentprovisions of this Act.

The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to, and notin derogation of, any other law for the time being in force.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) "animals" means animals useful to human beings and includes fish and fowl, and such kindsof wild life as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify, beingkinds which, in its opinions, it is desirable to protect or preserve; (b) "Board" means the Central Insecticides Board constituted under section 4; (c) "Central Insecticides Laboratory" means the Central Insecticides Laboratory established or asthe case may be, the Institution specified, under section 16; (d) "import" means bringing into any place within the territories to which this Act extends from aplace outside those territories; (e) "insecticide" means-- (i) any substance specified in the Schedule; or (ii) such other substances (including fungicides and weedicides) as the Central Governmentmay, after consultation with the Board, by notification in the Official Gazette, include in theSchedule from time to time; or (iii) any preparation containing any one or more of such substances; (f) "Insecticide Analyst" means an Insecticide Analyst appointed under section 19; (g) "Insecticide Inspector" means an Insecticide Inspector appointed under section 20; (h) "label" means any written, printed or graphic matter on the immediate package and on everyother covering in which the package is placed or packed and includes any written, printed or graphicmatter accompanying the insecticide; (i) "licensing officer" means a licensing officer appointed under section 12; (j) "manufacture", in relation to any insecticide, includes-- (i) any process or part of a process for making, altering, finishing, packing, labelling,breaking up or otherwise treating or adopting any insecticide with a view to its sale, distributionor use but does not include the packing or breaking up of any insecticide in the ordinary course ofretail business; and (ii) any process by which a preparation containing an insecticide is formulated; (k) "misbranded"--an insecticide shall be deemed to be misbranded-- (i) if its label contains any statement, design or graphic representation relating thereto whichis false or misleading in any material particular, or if its package is otherwise deceptive in respectof its contents; or (ii) if it is an imitation of, or is sold under the name of, another insecticide; or (iii) if its label does not contain a warning or caution which may be necessary and sufficient,if complied with, to prevent risk to human beings or animals; or (iv) if any word, statement or other information required by or under this Act to appear on thelabel is not displayed thereon in such conspicuous manner as the other words, statements, designsor graphic matter have been displayed on the label and in such terms as to render it likely to beread and understood by any ordinary individual under customary conditions of purchase anduse; or (v) if it is not packed or labelled as required by or under this Act; or (vi) if it is not registered in the manner required by or under this Act; or (vii) if the label contains any reference to registration other than the registration number; or (viii) if the insecticide has a toxicity which is higher than the level prescribed or is mixed orpacked with any substance so as to alter its nature or quality or contains any substance which isnot included in the registration; (l) "package" means a box, bottle casket, tin, barrel, case, receptacle, sack, bag, wrapper, or otherthing in which an insecticide is placed or packed; (m) "premises" means any land, shop, stall or place where any insecticide is sold or manufacturedor stored or used, and includes any vehicle carrying insecticide; (n) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (o) "registered", with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, means registered underthis Act; (p) "sale", with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, means the sale of anyinsecticide, whether for cash or on credit and whether by wholesale or retail, and includes anagreement for sale, an offer for sale, the exposing for sale or having in possession for sale of anyinsecticide and includes also an attempt to sell any such insecticide; (q) "State Government", in relation to a Union territory, means the administrator thereof; (r) "worker" means a person employed under a contract of service or apprenticeship.

(1) The Central Government shall, as soon as may be,constitute a Board to be called the, Central Insecticides Board to advise the Central Government and StateGovernments on technical matters arising out of the administration of this Act and to carry out the otherfunctions assigned to the Board by or under this Act. (2) The matters on which the Board may advise under sub-section (1) shall include mattersrelating to-- (a) the risk to human beings or animals involved in the use of insecticides and the safetymeasures necessary to prevent such risk; (b) the manufacture, sale, storage, transport and distribution of insecticides with a view to ensuresafety to human beings or animals. (3) The Board shall consist of the following members, namely:-- (i) the Director General of Heath Services, ex officio, who shall be the Chairman; (ii) the Drugs Controller, India, ex officio; (iii) the Plant Protection Adviser to the Government of India, ex officio; (iv) the Director of Storage and Inspection, Ministry of Food, Agriculture, CommunityDevelopment and Co-operation (Department of Food), ex officio; (v) the Chief Adviser of Factories, ex officio; (vi) the Director, National Institute of Communicable Diseases, ex officio; (vii) the Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, ex officio; (viii) the Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research, ex officio; (ix) the Director, Zoological Survey of India, ex officio; (x) the Director General, Indian Standards Institution, ex officio; (xi) the Director-General of Shipping or, in his absence, the Deputy Director General of Shipping,Ministry of Transport and Shipping, ex officio; (xii) the Joint Director, Traffic (General), Ministry of Railways (Railway Board), ex officio; (xiii) the Secretary, Central Committee for Food Standards, ex officio; 2[(xiiia) the Animal Husbandry Commissioner, Department of Agriculture, ex officio; (xiiib) the Joint Commissioner (Fisheries), Department of Agriculture, ex officio; (xiiic) the Deputy Inspector General of Forests (Wild Life), Department of Agriculture, ex officio; (xiiid) the Industrial Adviser (Chemicals), Directorate General of Technical Development,ex officio;] (xiv) one person to represent the Ministry of Petroleum and Chemicals, to be nominated by theCentral Government; (xv) one pharmacologist to be nominated by the Central Government; (xvi) one medical texicologist to be nominated by the Central Government; (xvii) one person who shall be in charge of the department dealing with public health in a State, tobe nominated by the Central Government; (xviii) two persons who shall be Directors of Agriculture in States, to be nominated by the CentralGovernment; (xix) four persons, one of whom shall be an expert in industrial health and occupational hazards,to be nominated by the Central Government; (xx) one person to represent the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research to be nominated bythe Central Government; 1[(xxi) one ecologist to be nominated by the Central Government.] (4) The persons nominated under clauses (xiv) to 2[(xxi)] inclusive, of sub-section (3) shall, unlesstheir seats become vacant earlier by resignation, death or otherwise, hold office for three years from thedate of their nomination, but shall be eligible for re-nomination: Provided that the persons nominated under clauses (xvii) and (xviii) shall hold office only for so longas they hold the appointments by virtue of which their nominations were made. 3[(5) No act or proceeding of the Board, the Registration Committee or any Committee appointedunder section 6, shall be called in question on the ground merely of the existence of any vacancy in, orany defect in the constitution of, the Board, the Registration Committee or such Committee, as the casemay be.]

(1) The Central Government shall constitute a Registration Committeeconsisting of a Chairman, and not more than five persons who shall be members of the Board (includingthe Drugs Controller, India and the Plant Protection Adviser to the Government of India)-- (i) to register insecticides after scrutinising their formulae and verifying claims made by theimporter or the manufacturer, as the case may be, as regards their efficacy and safety to human beingsand animals; and (ii) to perform such other functions as are assigned to it by or under this Act. (2) Where the Chairman is not a member of the Board, his term of office and other conditions ofservice shall be such as may be determined by the Central Government. (3) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), a member of the Registration Committee shall holdoffice for so long as he is a member of the Board. (4) The Committee may also co-opt such number of experts and for such purpose or period as it maydeem fit, but any expert so co-opted shall have no right to vote. (5) The Registration Committee shall regulate its own procedure and the conduct of business to betransacted by it.