India, Oct. 30 -- While the Indian government's 2022 extended producer responsibility guidelines was a step in the right direction, it needs more teeth to truly uphold the "polluter pays" principle in the country's plastic waste management journey, according to a new report by Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment.

The report released October 29, 2024 highlighted the gaps in the existing sytem of registration and implementation of the guidelines, and also outlined a way forward.

The EPR guidelines, issued by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on February 16, 2022, require manufacturers, producers, importers and brand owners (PIBO) as well as plastic waste processors (PWP) to registe...