CPCSEA stands for the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals. Since it is called the Committee for Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CCSEA). It is the same body under the same law: only “for the Purpose of” was dropped.
The name change
A letter from the Committee’s Member Secretary dated told all registered establishments and nominees that CPCSEA “would hereby be defined as” CCSEA. Older rules, forms and guidelines still say CPCSEA.
The law behind it
Chapter IV of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 deals with experiments on animals:
- Section 15: the Central Government, on the advice of the Animal Welfare Board of India, may set up a committee of officials and non-officials to control and supervise experiments on animals, and nominates its chairman.
- Section 17: the Committee must take all measures needed so that animals are not put to unnecessary pain or suffering before, during or after experiments, and may make rules for this.
- Section 18: it can authorise officers to inspect any place where experiments are done and to see records.
- Section 19: if its rules are broken, it can bar a person or institution from experimenting, for a period or indefinitely, after a hearing.
- Section 20: breaking such an order is punishable with a fine of up to ₹200.
History
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1960 | The PCA Act provides for the Committee (Section 15). |
| 1998 | The Committee makes the Breeding of and Experiments on Animals (Control and Supervision) Rules, 1998 (S.O. 1074, ). |
| 2001 | First amendment to the 1998 Rules (S.O. 134(E), ). |
| 2006 | Second amendment (S.O. 1818(E), ): consider non-animal alternatives first, use the fewest animals, and make investigators responsible for aftercare and rehabilitation. |
| 2023 | CPCSEA becomes CCSEA (letter of ). |
| 2026 | Draft Laboratory Animals Rules, G.S.R. 864(E), published on to replace the 1998 Rules. |
Read the 1998 Rules and their amendments · Read the 2026 draft.
Members
CCSEA is a statutory committee of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. Its website lists 19 members. The Chairman is Dr Muthukumarasamy B., Joint Secretary (Animal Welfare), and the Member Secretary is Dr S. K. Dutta, Joint Commissioner, DAHD. Members are named by Gazette notification, typically for three years.
What CCSEA does
- Registers establishments that breed animals for experiments or experiment on them, and renews registrations.
- Constitutes and revises each establishment’s Institutional Animals Ethics Committee (IAEC) and appoints its own nominees to it.
- Approves animal house facilities, and examines and approves research protocols on large animals.
- Inspects animal house facilities, and reviews nominees’ inspection reports and IAEC minutes.
- Writes and revises guidelines, and advises the Government on the welfare of animals used in experiments.
- Promotes the 3Rs (replacement, reduction and refinement) and keeps a database of non-animal methods.
Under the 2026 draft
CCSEA would decide only severe and non-recovery experiments on animals above rodents and rabbits (Rule 11(2)). Mild and moderate experiments on every species would go to the lab’s own IAEC (Rule 11(3)). Who approves an animal experiment under the draft.
Questions and answers
What is the full form of CPCSEA?
Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals. Since it is called the Committee for Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CCSEA).
Under which law is CCSEA set up?
Section 15 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
Which ministry is CCSEA under?
The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
Objections to the draft lab animal rules can be sent to CCSEA until . Write and send yours in two minutes.
Sources
- CCSEA: Introduction
- CCSEA: Functions
- CCSEA: letter on the change of name,
- CCSEA: Compendium of CPCSEA (PCA Act Chapter IV, 1998 Rules, 2001 and 2006 amendments, standard operating procedures)
- ICMR: letter on a CPCSEA member nominated by Gazette notification for three years,
- CCSEA: Draft Laboratory Animals Rules, 2026, G.S.R. 864(E) (Gazette of India, Extraordinary, No. 793, )
