India’s push to regulate the quality of PVC resin, a key raw material used in drinking water pipes, packaging, and pharmaceutical applications, has been delayed again. The Quality Control Order (QCO) for PVC Resin, which aims to ensure safer and contamination-free materials, has now been deferred to December 24, 2025, raising concerns among health experts and industry stakeholders. PVC currently contributes to nearly 30% of India’s economy, with widespread use across water, sanitation, irrigation, healthcare, construction, and infrastructure. 

A recent report by the Centre for Digital Economy Policy Research (C-DEP) titled“Balancing Growth and Public Health Safety: Criticality of PVC QCO in India”has pointed out the urgent need to implement the Quality Control Order (QCO) for PVC resin without further delay.

According to the report, the Indian standard for PVC resin was first created in 2021 by the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals (DCPC) after consultations with industry stakeholders. The regulation was introduced because PVC is widely used in food packaging, water pipes, and pharmaceutical materials. The Quality Control Order makes certification mandatory to control Residual Vinyl Chloride Monomer (RVCM), a chemical known to cause cancer. It ensures that PVC used in drinking-water and irrigation systems meets IS 10151, which limits RVCM contamination. Initially scheduled for June 2025, the regulation’s rollout has now been postponed to December 2025.

The C-DEP report points out that the certified capacity under the QCO already exceeds India’s total demand. By December 2024, foreign manufacturers had received BIS certification for 4.7 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) of PVC resin. By 2025, this number had grown to 13.7 MMTPA across 39 units, about 4.6 times India’s current demand-supply gap.

However, the report also notes that regulatory gaps remain. There is no systematic testing to check how vinyl chloride leaks from pipes into water under real-world conditions. The 22-month delay in enforcing IS 17658 allows the continued entry of non-compliant resin, defeating the purpose of the order. Although IS 10151 limits RVCM to 1 ppm for drinking-water applications, testing at import and procurement stages remains weak, raising public-health concerns.

C-DEP President Dr. Jaijit Bhattacharya said the delay reflects misplaced priorities.

“Imports have already fallen by 30 per cent since the QCO was announced, and that hasn’t raised costs,” he explained. “Anybody who has done 101 of economics would know that if imports have gone down and exports have stayed the same, the intermediates are coming from within the country. It shows we were importing trash in the name of keeping our costs low.”

He further warned that poor-quality PVC is not just an industrial issue but a public-health risk.

“We’ve got thousands of kilometres of PVC pipes being used in agriculture, housing, and water supply projects like the Jal Shakti Abhiyaan. What flows through these pipes is the water that humans drink or that irrigates the vegetables we eat. The carcinogens travel through these pipes, enter our food chain, and build up in our bodies until they cause cancer.”

Bhattacharya stressed that India must take quality control as seriously as other nations do.

“China has over 20,000 mandatory standards, the US has more than 27,000, and the EU has around 3,600. India doesn’t even have a thousand. If we want to be a developed country, we must act like one, by enforcing strict quality standards instead of becoming a dumping ground for poor-quality imports.”

Anil Sharma of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) backed the report and echoed similar concerns, urging immediate implementation of the QCO.

“Some of the arguments made against the QCO simply don’t hold ground, and postponing its implementation on such weak grounds is unjustified. Quality control orders must apply to finished goods, and a finished product can only be as good as the quality of its raw materials,” he said.

He also pointed out the national and economic importance of self-reliance in standards.

“The Swadeshi Jagran Manch is committed to achieving a self-reliant India. We are focused on protecting domestic industries and encouraging the use of indigenous products. Our mission is to influence policy, strengthen national economic independence, and ensure Indian businesses are well-positioned in the global market.”

Sharma added that the carcinogenic nature of PVC makes delays even more dangerous.

“These same pipes are being used under the Jal Shakti Abhiyaan to supply water to every household. Later, when we realise the health risks, we’ll have to redo everything. Such issues must not be ignored or postponed.”

Experts also pointed out that the proposed quality-control framework is in line with international safety norms, as countries like the US, EU, and Thailand already regulate RVCM levels in PVC resin within a tight range of 0.5 to 3 ppm. In contrast, India still lacks binding limits, allowing imports of resin from China with concentrations as high as 5 to 10 ppm. This continued inflow of lower-grade material highlights the need to implement the PVC QCO without further delay, ensuring Indian standards match global benchmarks.

The C-DEP report, therefore, points out that quality regulation is not just a technical matter; it’s a public health and economic necessity. If India truly aims to be a developed, self-reliant nation, it must enforce strong quality standards that protect both its citizens and its industries.