The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has begun the process of revising the country’s organic food regulations in a move aimed at bringing them in line with evolving global benchmarks. A senior official confirmed that a dedicated committee has been set up to draft the new framework, which will govern certification, accreditation, and labelling for organic products.
The revision comes at a time when India’s organic sector has gained prominence internationally, both as a supplier and as a consumer-driven market. Current regulations, framed under the Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations, 2017, draw heavily from the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP), last updated in 2014. That programme governs certification processes, accreditation norms, and use of the “India Organic” label.
“India is in the process of updating its overall guidelines for organic farming. Naturally, this requires organic food standards to be revisited as well,” the official said. While no timeline has been fixed for the release of new regulations, the overhaul will extend to all organic agricultural products.
The NPOP framework, operated under the Ministry of Commerce, has long served as the backbone of India’s organic certification ecosystem. It works in parallel with the participatory guarantee system managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. Importantly, NPOP’s crop standards already enjoy recognition as “equivalent” by the European Commission, Switzerland, and Great Britain, enabling smoother trade in organic produce.
The revised regulations are expected to factor in recent changes in international rules, particularly in the EU and North America, where stricter definitions of organic farming and traceability requirements are emerging. With India’s organic exports growing steadily over the past two decades, industry players view the regulatory upgrade as crucial to maintaining credibility and expanding market access.
