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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Post-Bt brinjal, GM regulator is top priority

Post-Bt brinjal, GM regulator is top priority

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published Published on Feb 14, 2010   modified Modified on Feb 14, 2010


It is a step which is expected to reduce the room for political and technical whims and biases, bring in transparency and satisfy safety concerns about biotech products the country needs but is chary of embracing.

The government has fasttracked a long-pending Bill to set up the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority. The Bill, revised and discussed by a committee of secretaries on Thursday, if cleared, would overhaul the current flawed regulatory system and set up a completely new overarching regime to manage all trade, research, manufacture and import of biotech products in the country.

The heated public debate on introduction of GM food crops into India sparked by the environment ministry’s decision to put a moratorium on the cultivation of Monsanto’s Bt brinjal seems to have got the Bill off the backburner. The Bill proposes a three-member autonomous Biotechnology Regulatory Authority, along the lines of the telecom and other sector-wide regulatory mechanisms, with an elaborate set up below to make policy , regulate and monitor the surging business of biotechnology in the country.

Once the Bill gets passed, existing institutions such as the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee — which have got embroiled in conflict of interest cases — would become redundant. While the recent controversy has arisen about the use of GM technology in food crops, biotechnology finds uses in a vast array of products. The new regime would monitor all biotech applications.

The authority would be supported by an inter-ministerial advisory board and a Biotechnology Advisory Council . The authority would be the sole body to regulate the clinical and field trials of crops like GM rice and GM tomatoes. Besides, it would control the manufacture, sale and open release of any produce that uses biotechnology including drugs and cosmetics.

It would have the powers to call and inquire into the work of any one engaged in activities relating to biotechnology and set up safety norms for the entire sector. If the Bill finds favour with Parliament, the authority would be empowered with search and inspection powers as provided in the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The autonomous body, with the ministry of science and technology as the nodal ministry, will have at least three divisions. One of the divisions would look after agriculture , forests and fisheries related issues, the second would be responsible for human health and veterinary concerns and the third would regulate industrial and environmental applications.

The authority will also have a risk assessment unit to review and permit research, transport and import of any organism to be used for biotechnology development and an enforcement unit to monitor the industry post-clearance .

The government has proposed that any illegal clinical trials would get a minimum of five years imprisonment besides a hefty fine. Repeat offenders would be treated worse. Illegal field trials of any biotech product would attract a minimum of six months imprisonment and anyone found misleading the public about safety concerns would also attract a similar minimum punishment.

The Bill also proposes the setting up of a tribunal to address any grievance against the orders of the authority. Once the Bill is passed, no other court shall take cognisance of any offence under the Act unless the authority or its officers file the complaint. 
 


The Economic Times, 13 February, 2010, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5568044.cms
 

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