Data Protection will bring farmers newer, safer chemistry and strengthen domestic industry and exports, says leading Indian companies.
India’s leading crop protection companies have jointly urged the Government of India to introduce Protection of Regulatory Data (PRD), saying it would benefit farmers first and strengthen domestic manufacturing and exports. Crystal Crop Protection, Rallis India, Dhanuka Agritech, PI Industries and Godrej Agrovet said a limited, time-bound data protection window is the missing incentive to bring newer, safer and lower-dose molecules to Indian farms faster, and to widen the pool of molecules available to the whole domestic industry, including the generic sector and SMEs.
The clearest gain is for the farmer. As climate change shifts the pattern of pests, weeds and diseases, limited chemistry poses challenges and resistance builds. Newer molecules are more targeted, work at lower doses and carry better safety profiles, which means safer handling, lower residues in produce and more dependable protection for the crop. India loses an estimated 10 per cent to 35 per cent of its output each year to pests, weeds and diseases, a loss of around Rs 2 lakh crore (approx. $20 billion) as estimated by CropLife India Yes Bank
Knowledge Report and studies find these losses climb further with every degree of warming.
The benefit runs across the domestic industry and its exports. A modern portfolio gives Indian manufacturers more to make, and gives farm exports the newer chemistry they need to clear tightening residue limits abroad. Expanding India's registered portfolio beyond the current 380 of the 1,200 molecules in use worldwide would strengthen agricultural productivity, manufacturing competitiveness and export resilience. India’s own agrochemical exports compete directly with countries that already provide data protection. A modern portfolio is a more competitive one.
PRD is the mechanism that keeps the portfolio refreshed. Bringing a new molecule to India costs about Rs 40 to 50 crore (approx. $4–5 million) and takes six to eight years of local safety, efficacy and residue studies. Without a protected period, a later applicant can rely on that same data within a year, at a cost of around Rs 75 lakh (approx. $75,000) , which removes the incentive to introduce newer molecules here at all. A limited window restores that incentive, and once it ends the molecule is open to the whole industry.
That widening pool reaches the generic sector and SMEs. As molecules complete their protection period, small and medium manufacturers gain a larger and more modern set of products to make and export, on top of everything they produce today. The measure adds to what the domestic industry can build on, it does not subtract from it. Nothing already in the market is affected, since PRD applies only to new molecules and new uses.
India would be catching up, not breaking new ground. China provides six years of data protection and is today the world’s largest exporter of agrochemicals. Thailand, Brazil and the United States each provide up to ten years, and the European Union provides ten, extended to as much as thirteen for low-risk and biological products to encourage greener chemistry. India currently provides none. The countries India competes with built their strength with data protection already in place.
The companies pointed to two gains missing from the public debate. When a single molecule carries several hundred identical registrations, prices collapse to a level that drives over-use, misuse and a market for spurious and sub-standard products, none of which serves the farmer. A protection window rewards genuine investment in quality and curbs that race to the bottom. And because registration requires locally generated data, and the first registrant carries stewardship and resistance-management duties during the protected period, the measure sends more research work to Indian laboratories and field stations and improves how products are used in the field. The result is a fairer, safer and more research-focused industry.
The companies urge the Government to utilise the opportunity presented by the draft Pesticides Management Bill, 2025; to incorporate a limited and time-bound Protection of Regulatory Data (PRD) framework. A five-year period from the first registration of new molecules and new uses would provide a balanced incentive for innovation while ensuring full market entry for the generic sector and SMEs once the protection period ends.
“Evolving pest pressures demand modern crop protection solutions, yet farmers continue to have limited access to the latest innovations. A time-bound data protection window brings them newer and safer tools sooner, and every molecule it brings in early belongs to the whole industry once the window closes”,
opined Ankur Aggarwal, Chairman, CropLife India and Executive Chairman & Managing Director, Crystal Crop Protection Ltd.
Gyanendra Shukla, Vice Chairman of CropLife India and MD & CEO of Rallis India, said the exporting countries India competes with "adopted data protection and grew stronger for it." Rahul Dhanuka, Managing Director of Dhanuka Agritech, and Mayank Singhal, Vice Chairperson & Managing Director of PI Industries, echoed the call for a predictable framework, while N K Rajavelu, CEO of Godrej Agrovet, said extending protection for low-risk products, as the EU does, could encourage "climate-friendly molecules" for Indian agriculture.
Source: AgroSpectrum India
