On July 15, 2025, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, issued a new order to boost food safety and regulate poultry farming. This amendment bans the use of antimicrobial medicines to promote growth or increase yield in poultry birds. It also prohibits several antibiotics, antivirals, and antiprotozoals at any stage of poultry farming, meat production, and processing. The banned substances include carbapenems, glycopeptides, oxazolidinones, cephalosporins with beta-lactamase inhibitors, oseltamivir, favipiravir, molnupiravir, and nitazoxanide.
The goal is to stop the misuse of critical drugs in poultry farms and prevent antimicrobial resistance. These rules support safe poultry farming, ensure clean poultry meat, and improve the quality of poultry exports. The move aligns India’s poultry sector with international food safety standards. By enforcing these changes, the government strengthens public health protection and enhances the global reputation of Indian poultry products.