To accommodate the demand from African nations, the center extends DDT manufacturing for an additional five years

Even though the Stockholm Convention’s deadline to phase out the toxic chemical is coming to an end this year, the Center has opted to keep producing DDT (dichloro diphenyl trichloroethane) for a further five years, according to authorities.

DDT usage was restricted to controlling mosquitoes and its manufacturing was prohibited by the Convention. Senior authorities indicated that India continued to use DDT because of demand from African nations. September will see the decision announced by the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) to the Convention secretariat.

It was quickly discovered that DDT, which was created in the 1940s and used to combat vector-borne illnesses including typhus and malaria, may cause cancer. Even after its use in agriculture was outlawed in 1972, India persisted in use it to manage illnesses spread by vectors.

The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals (DCP) has granted MoEF&CC permission to continue producing DDT in order to fulfill its export commitments.

Hindustan Insecticide Ltd (HIL) is now required to provide 36 MT by the end of March to five African nations.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW), which purchases a significant amount of DDT to combat vector-borne diseases, has declared that it no longer need the chemical since there are substitutes available. Additionally, MoH&FW has 578 MT of DDT stockpiled.

According to Ved Prakash Mishra, head of hazardous substances management at MoEF&CC, “MoH&FW didn’t give a new order to the sole manufacturer Hindustan Insecticide, whereas DCP is under obligations to meet the demands from African countries.”

In addition to being harmful to the environment, research indicates that DDT is making mosquitoes resistant to it. India has been developing eco-friendly substitutes. In collaboration with the United Nations agency UNIDO, a collaborative effort will develop the first neem- and Bt-based biopesticides globally. “As we are setting up the facility, its commercial production would be started by the end of 2025,” an HIL official said.