Center to introduce updated organic agricultural product standards

Since 2001, India's export of organic products has been governed by the NPOP, which is overseen by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry's Department of Commerce.

In order to bring organic agricultural goods into compliance with the most recent European Union (EU) grades, the government will implement new requirements. Through the use of data analytics, this program seeks to improve regulatory supervision and increase the procedures' clarity and openness.

The National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) 2014 is being updated to take into account the changes in the global organic markets and the international organic landscape over the ten years since its last revision, according to Abhishek Dev, chairman of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda). According to him, the goal of this modification is to improve transparency and clarity. On January 9, the revised criteria are expected to be made public.

The Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act governs the export of organic products from India, and the NPOP, which has been in effect since 2001, is supervised by the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.

In addition to the participation guarantee system run by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, NPOP is accepted in the domestic market under the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India laws as part of the Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) laws, 2017.

The NPOP sets criteria and processes for accrediting certifying bodies, specifies standards for organic production, and controls the use of the India Organic mark. Its policies and practices are designed to comply with global laws governing the import and export of organic goods.