Centre has tightened rules for biostimulant products by bringing them firmly under the Fertilizer Control Order (FCO), 1985. Before formal regulation, the Indian market had nearly 30,000 such products with little oversight. In February 2021, the government issued a notification to include biostimulants under the FCO and introduced Clause 20C to regulate their quality.
Biostimulants are defined as substances or microorganisms, or a combination of both, that enhance crop growth, yield, nutrient uptake, quality, and stress tolerance. They are not pesticides or plant growth regulators, which are covered separately under the Insecticides Act, 1968. Under the FCO, biostimulants are classified into categories such as botanical extracts, protein hydrolysates, amino acids, vitamins, antioxidants, humic and fulvic acids, cell-free microbial products, anti-transpirants, and certain live microorganisms.
To give the industry time to adjust, the government allowed provisional registration (G3 certificates) for more than 8,000 products. These registrations were temporary, enabling companies to continue manufacturing and importing while generating the required data on bioefficacy, chemistry, and toxicity. Initially valid for two years until February 2023, the provisional registrations were extended several times, with the last extension granted up to June 16, 2025, in response to industry requests.
However, to safeguard farmer interests and ensure a complete transition to the new regulatory framework, the government has decided not to extend the deadline any further. Consequently, all provisional registrations became invalid from June 17, 2025. The Department of Agriculture has uploaded the list of invalidated products on its official website.
So far, the government has approved and included 146 biostimulant products in Schedule VI of the FCO. Notifications for these approved products have been published in the Gazette of India and are available on the Department of Agriculture’s website.
