New Delhi: The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has banned testing cosmetics and their ingredients on animals, an animal rights organisation said Friday.

"DGCI has announced that testing cosmetics and their ingredients on animals will not be permitted in the country. The announcement was made today (Friday) at Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) cosmetics sectional committee meeting," People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an international animal rights group, said in a statement.

According to PETA, the DGCI announcement comes in the wake of European Union (EU) and Israel imposing bans on the testing of cosmetic products and their ingredients on animals.

"DCGI`s announcement that testing cosmetics and their ingredients on animals will never be allowed in India again is a victory for animals and science. Animal tests are cruel and unreliable," said Chaitanya Koduri, PETA India`s science policy adviser.

"This compliance with international standards will now improve trade avenues for the country and save animals` lives. Now PETA urges the government to bring in a similar ban on the testing of household products like cleaners on animals in India," Koduri said.

More than 1,200 companies around the world have banned all animal tests, but many still choose to subject animals to painful tests, in which substances are dripped into their eyes, smeared on their abraded skin, sprayed in their faces or forced down their throats, the statement said.(Source)