India's Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying has ordered that mineral mixtures for cattle feed, feed-grade dicalcium phosphate, and common salt and cattle licks meet national standards and carry the Bureau of Indian Standards mark.
The Animal Feeds and Feed Ingredients (Quality Control) Order, 2026, is dated Oct. 7 and was published in the Gazette of India on Oct. 12, the day it took effect. Compliance is phased by company size. Most manufacturers must comply by April 1, 2027. Small enterprises have until July 1, 2027, and micro enterprises until Oct. 1, 2027.
The mechanics are simple. Each covered product must meet its Indian Standard: IS 1664 for mineral mixtures, IS 5470 for dicalcium phosphate and IS 920 for salt and cattle licks. It must also bear the standard mark under a license issued by the bureau, which is the certifying and enforcing authority. Violations are punishable under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016. The order applies the latest version of each standard, including amendments.
The final list is narrower than the one India proposed. A draft notified to the World Trade Organization in April 2025 also covered cottonseed oilcake and mustard and rapeseed oilcake as livestock feed ingredients. Neither appears in the final order, and the gazette notice does not explain why.
That leaves the oilseed meal trade outside the requirement for now and puts the compliance load on mineral and supplement suppliers. Mineral mixtures and dicalcium phosphate supply the calcium and phosphorus in many dairy and cattle rations. Under the new rules, feed manufacturers buying those inputs will need certified product once their suppliers' deadlines pass.
Goods made for export are exempt. The order contains no comparable exemption for imports.
Micro and small enterprises are defined under India's Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006. Their later deadlines give smaller mineral-mixture blenders up to six extra months to obtain bureau licenses.
The order was signed by Muthukumarasamy B, joint secretary in the department. The gazette notice does not say how the bureau will handle licensing for foreign manufacturers, how many producers hold licenses now or whether the oilseed cakes could be added later.
