India

In India, the government adopted the voluntary National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP). It covers National Standards for Organic Production (NSOP), rules for accreditation of certification bodies and certification, guidelines for the certification of growers groups as well as rules for the use of the Indian organic logo. The National Standards for Organic Production (NSOP) are based on IFOAM Basic Standards. They are mainly relevant for organic export products, most organic products for the domestic market are not certified.

The competent authority is the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) within the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.

There is a voluntary national logo called “India Organic”, owned by the government of India, which can be used by exporters, manufacturers and processors whose products are certified by an independent third-party certification organisation according to the National Standards for Organic Production (NSOP).

Private standards and labels play a minor role for the Indian organic market.

There are no organisations representing the private organic sector in India. EU equivalent certification bodies have their own organic standards, which are recognized and considered equivalent to EC regulations.

The control and certification process is performed by private certification bodies accredited by the National Accreditation Body (NAB). The up-to-date directory of accredited inspection and certification bodies is published by the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).

At the moment, there are no regulations or agreements for the import of organic products from foreign countries to India. International organic standards are not formally recognized as equivalent by India, but there is a conformity assessment of the NOP standard from USDA (USA) and the Indian NPOP standard. 

Presently, only organic products certified according to the US organic standards (NOP standards) can be imported to India for the purpose of re-export to USA, e.g. if they are used as an ingredient of a multi-ingredient product. Certified organic products imported to India for the purpose of re-export need a re-certification according to NPOP. For that purpose, the accredited certification bodies are required to apply to APEDA for re-certification of imported organic products.

General information on organic agriculture in India.