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न्यूज क्लिपिंग्स् | Manmohan convenes meeting on Bt brinjal today by Gargi Parsai

Manmohan convenes meeting on Bt brinjal today by Gargi Parsai

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published Published on Feb 23, 2010   modified Modified on Feb 23, 2010


Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has convened a meeting of the Ministers concerned with genetically modified (GM) crops on Wednesday. Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Minister of State for Environment and Forests (Independent Charge) Jairam Ramesh and Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan are expected to attend.

The meeting has been called in response to a letter written by Mr. Pawar earlier this month to Dr. Singh, in which he has sought the latter’s “personal and urgent intervention” in clearly defining the government’s approach on “frontline technologies” (such as genetically modified technology) for higher productivity in agriculture.

The meeting will discuss in particular the February 9 moratorium imposed by Mr. Ramesh on the commercialisation of Bt brinjal, after a month of public consultations in seven cities.

Ten States had also opposed the commercialisation of Bt brinjal after the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) under the Environment and Forests Ministry recommended the commercial release of Mahyco’s Bt brinjal seed.

Taking umbrage to the moratorium, Mr. Pawar said in his letter that “any ad-hoc decisions, without adequate consultations with the main stakeholders, i.e. the Indian Council of Agriculture Research and the Department of Agriculture, completely jeopardises the sustained efforts of our agricultural scientists.

Private seed companies

“It is also well known that the support of private seed companies is required to take India to higher levels of food and nutrition security. Biotechnology interventions by private companies require substantial investment. It is imperative, therefore, that the regulatory regime is made transparent and known in advance to these companies. Absence of clarity on some of these issues could also jeopardise research and development not only by the private seed companies but also by the public institutions. I have in mind the recent developments in keeping in abeyance the introduction of Bt brinjal after approval by the GEAC,” Mr Pawar said.

Earlier, Mr. Pawar had said the GEAC’s word on a GM crop would be final and that the Agriculture Ministry had no role in it. To this Mr. Ramesh had said in a letter to him that the government did have a role and a responsibility especially if it involved the safety and security of people.

 

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