1. Chemical Weapons Convention is a universal non-discriminatory, multilateral, Disarmament Treaty which bans the development, production, acquisition, transfer, use and stockpile of all chemical weapons. The Treaty puts all the States Parties on an equal footing. Countries having stockpiles of chemical weapons are required to declare and destroy them in a specified time frame and those who produce and use chemicals that can be conveniently converted into chemical weapons have to be open and transparent about the use they put these chemicals to The Convention was opened for signature on 13^th January, 1993 in Paris.
2. India is a signatory and party to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) with Head Quarters at The Hague, Netherlands.
3. India signed the treaty at Paris on 14^th day of January 1993. Pursuant to provisions of the Convention, India enacted the Chemical Weapons Convention Act, 2000. As on date, 193 countries are parties to the Convention.
4. The Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals is the administrative Department of CWC Act, 2000. Chemical Weapons Convention Act, 2000 is in force in the country w.e.f. 1^st July 2005
5. The National Authority for Chemical Weapons Convention (NACWC) has been set up as an office of the Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India in 1997 to fulfill, on behalf of the Government of India, the obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and to act as the national focal point for effective liaison with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and other State Parties on matters relating to the Convention.
6. Three Schedules of the chemicals which have been annexed to the Convention are required to be declared and are given as follows:
   • Schedule-1 Chemicals (16 Chemicals) (i.e. Chemical Weapons);
   • Schedule-2 Chemicals (14 Chemicals) (i.e. precursors to Chemical Weapons);
   • Schedule-3 Chemicals (17 Chemicals)  (i.e. dual use chemicals).