India is taking a firm stance against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by planning to ban 37 antibiotics for use in animals. This decision reflects increasing global concerns about the overuse of antibiotics in livestock and its potential impact on human health.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has already banned the use of specific antibiotics in the production of meat, milk, eggs, poultry and aquaculture, effective April 1, 2025. This ban follows India's commitment to the Muscat Ministerial Manifesto on AMR in November 2022, which included reducing antimicrobial use in agrifood systems and ending the use of medically important antimicrobials for growth promotion in animals.
Antibiotics have been used as antimicrobial growth promoters (AMGPs) for approximately seven decades. AMGPs disrupt the microbial balance in animals' guts, suppressing harmful bacteria and enabling animals to absorb more nutrients, leading to weight gain and improved feed efficiency. However, this practice creates selective pressure that can lead to the emergence of resistant strains of bacteria.
India is the fourth-largest user of antibiotics in food-producing animals. Surveillance data from 2019-2022 revealed high antibiotic resistance in aquaculture and poultry. For example, 91.3% of Staphylococcus aureus isolates in the aquaculture sector were resistant to penicillin. Similarly, isolates of poultry origin demonstrated high resistance to common antibiotics like ampicillin, cefotaxime, and tetracycline.
The increasing resistance to antibiotics in animals poses a significant risk to human health. When animals are given antibiotics, resistant bacteria can develop and spread to humans through the consumption of contaminated food, direct contact with animals, or through the environment. This can lead to infections in humans that are difficult or impossible to treat with standard antibiotics.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry in India has also prohibited the use of several medically important antimicrobials in the aquaculture industry in May 2025. This ban includes a range of antibiotics, antivirals, and antiprotozoals considered medically important for humans by the World Health Organization. Specific banned antibiotics include classes like fluoroquinolones, glycopeptides, and nitrofurans. The order prohibits their use in hatcheries, feed manufacturing units, and processing units catering to shrimp, prawns, fish, and fishery products.
These measures are crucial for protecting the efficacy of antibiotics and preventing the spread of antimicrobial resistance. Scientists and public health experts have hailed the move to ban certain antibiotics in food production as a vital step in safeguarding public health.
While the ban is a positive step, effective implementation will be crucial. There have been challenges in enforcing previous bans, such as the 2019 ban on colistin in agriculture. Continued misuse of antibiotics, particularly through feed premixes in the poultry sector, highlights the need for stricter enforcement and monitoring. Complex cultural, political, and economic drivers within the livestock industry need to be addressed to ensure the successful adoption of the new regulations.
