Indian Economy News

Union Agriculture Minister Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan announces major agriculture reforms to simplify processes for farmers, traders

India has unveiled a wide-ranging set of reforms aimed at simplifying agricultural governance, improving transparency and accelerating digital transformation across the agri-sector. Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced the measures during a high-level review meeting under Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi’s “Reform Express” initiative. The reforms focus on reducing paperwork, streamlining approvals and enhancing ease of doing business for farmers, traders, retailers and agri-sector stakeholders. Agriculture Secretary Mr. Atish Chandra presented details of ongoing reforms, including simplification of the licensing process for household pesticides. The application form has been reduced from three pages to a single page, while physical product inserts have been replaced with QR codes printed directly on labels. The move is expected to benefit over 40 lakh retailers and grocery shopkeepers dealing in mosquito repellents, liquid vaporisers and other household pest-control products.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare also simplified the registration process for new fertilisers under the Fertilizer Control Order (FCO), 1985, by removing the dual approval mechanism and retaining only the Central Fertilizer Committee for approvals. Additionally, all 649 customs ports have now been digitally integrated through the Plant Quarantine Management System (PQMS) and Indian Customs Electronic Data Interchange Gateway (ICEGATE), enabling importers to submit a single online application for agricultural commodity imports. The government has also abolished the EXIM Committee and removed the mandatory “Prior Recommendation” requirement for seed and planting material imports and exports. The ministry further reviewed the AI-powered Bharat-VISTAAR platform, launched on February 17, 2026, which has already handled more than 44 lakh farmer queries by integrating over 15 agricultural information services into a single digital platform. Officials are also considering additional reforms to speed up approvals for new fertiliser technologies.

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