The National Programme for Organic Production (hereinafter referred to as ‘NPOP’) provides for Standards for organic production, systems, criteria and procedure for accreditation of Certification Bodies, the National (India Organic) Logo and the regulations governing its use. The standards and procedures have been formulated in harmony with other International Standards regulating import and export of organic products. This document also proposes to provide an institutional mechanism for the implementation of National Standards for Organic Production
The Standards for Organic Production are notified in National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) by the Director General of Foreign Trade under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992. The NPOP has a system where in Certification Bodies are accredited with National Accreditation Body (NAB) which is chaired by the Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce. The Secretariat of the NAB is with APEDA. NPOP covers standards for crops and their products, live stocks and poultry products, aquaculture, apiculture etc. The exports from the country are as per the provisions in NPOP.NPOP launched during 2001 laid the foundation for systematic development of organic agriculture sector in the country.
1. NPOP is being managed by APEDA under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
2. NPOP is the main stay for quality assurance for organic agriculture products in India operated through 28 accredited certification bodies.
3. NPOP has grown almost 35 fold starting from 42,000 ha in 2003-04 TO to 1.45 million ha during 2016-2017.
4. All types of agriculture, horticulture and non-food crops are grown under organic certification process. 

PGS (Participatory Guarantee System) is a process of certifying organic products, which ensures that their production takes place in accordance with laid-down quality standards. The certification is in the form of a documented logo or a statement.
According to ‘Participatory Guarantee System for India [PGS-India]’,. PGS is a “quality assurance initiative that is locally relevant, emphasize[s] the participation of stakeholders, including producers and consumers, and (which) operate[s] outside the framework of third-party certification”.
According to a 2008 definition formulated by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), the Bonn-based global umbrella organization for the organic agriculture movement, PGSs are “locally focused quality assurance systems” that “certify producers based on active participation of stakeholders and are built on a foundation of trust, social networks and knowledge exchange”.
PGS, according to this definition, is “a process in which people in similar situations (in this case small holder producers) assess, inspect and verify the production practices of each other and take decisions on organic certification”.

Four pillars of PGS
PARTICIPATION: SHARED VISION: TRANSPARENCY: TRUST:

Any independent individual who wishes to grow crops organically.

Transition to Organic production-Annuals require a period of 24 months before sowing, perennials require 36 months.

Organic seeds and planting material are allowed. If organic source unavailable, chemically untreated seeds, planting materials can be used after permission from CB.

Manure from organic animal husbandry. Soil management shall be by use of green manures, on-farm inputs, intercrop, crop rotation. Those organic or mineral fertilizers that are brought in shall be as per Standard requirements. All GMOs, synthetic nitrogenous fertilizers are prohibited. Sewage sludge, growth regulators are prohibited.