The present Decision Support System for Insect and Mite Pests of Quarantine Significance to India has been developed under the Emeritus Scientist Scheme, ICAR, funded project entitled Development of Decision Support System for Insect and Mite Pests of Quarantine Significance to India. The work under the project was initiated in 2018.
The movement of agricultural commodities globally, has a significant role in diversifying Indian agriculture and boosting the production. However, such movements especially under the liberalized WTO regime carries the risk of inadvertent introduction of exotic pests to new habitats and, if not regulated may prove disastrous and pose a biosecurity threat to our agriculture. At present, India, imports agricultural commodities including germplasm as per the provisions of Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) Order 2003 issued under the Destructive Insect and Pests Act, (DIP Act) 1914 promulgated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoA & FW), Government of India, which came into force with effect from April 1, 2004. At national level, ICAR- National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) is a nodal institute to issue Import Permit (IP), undertake quarantine of germplasm including transgenics and issue Phytosanitary Certificate (PSC) for material under exchange meant for research both by public and private sectors, while the bulk imports for consumption and sowing/ planting material are dealt by Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage (DPPQS).
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