The committee set up by the consumer affairs ministry to probe into the alleged presence of pesticides in bottled drinking water has asked the Bureau of Indian Standards to overhaul its procedures for developing standards, increase frequency of testing samples and set up a core group of scientific manpower.

The committee headed by additional consumer affairs secretary Satwant Reddy said in its report that BIS should have a pro-active approach towards keeping the standards dynamic and at par with the international developments in related fields.

Pointing out certain shortfalls in the targets set for frequency of surveillance and testing of samples, it said, "BIS should have complete in-house review of its resources before accepting the responsibility of mandatory certification of an item of mass consumption like packaged water."

The committee has asked the BIS to consider linking frequencies of testing with production and development of individual Scheme of Testing and Inspection for each manufacturing units instead of a single STI for all licences.

It also suggested that BIS should have a core group of scientists from various fields with responsibility of keeping track of recent scientific and critical areas to alert the BIS management even before the review is due.