New Life Breathed into India's Chemical Policy Plans

India's Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has formed a committee of experts and officials to create a national action plan to address chemical regulation, management and pollution in India.

The National Coordination Committee was set up in April and is due to produce its report by 15 September – although its constitution allows the timetable to be extended.

The formation of the committee has raised hopes that progress will be made in creating a national chemicals policy for India, after numerous setbacks and delays going back to 2012 and the publication of a "final draft" in January 2014.

Chemical Watch last reported on the national plan in August 2016, noting that further delays were expected with a forthcoming "comprehensive review" of the amended final draft.

The 18-strong committee is mainly comprised of officials and ex-officials from national and regional government ministries, agencies and research institutes, but also includes a representative of the Indian Chemical Council (ICC) and former head of environment policy at the Confederation of Indian Industry.

It has broad terms of reference and its report is aimed at "guiding and directing" the production of the national action plan.

It will also provide technical advice to the ministry on "chemicals which are produced, imported and consumed in the country as well as new chemicals" in order to put forward the "phasing out of chemicals to be proposed over a short-term and long-term period".

Similarly, its views will be sought on:

> a policy framework, particularly for chemical registration;

> the development of infrastructure for analysis of chemicals and their effects;
revisions to existing regulations; and

> meeting India’s obligations under international treaties, such as the UN Stockholm and Rotterdam Conventions on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and the prior informed consent procedure for the shipment of restricted hazardous chemicals and pesticides.

A senior ICC official told Chemical Watch that industry opinion is being sought on its current needs, the effectiveness of existing regulations and their implementation, on the classification, labelling and packaging guidelines for chemicals, and on the integration of similar regulations.

The committee's report will be discussed at a national level stakeholders workshop involving industry associations, governmental organisations and NGOs.

The features of any action plan, such as which agency would be responsible for its implementation, and any timetable, may emerge when the report is published.

The project is supported by the World Bank as part of its capacity building for an industrial management programme.