-The Hindu Hyderabad: Sixteen MPs of Opposition parties, have appealed to the Centre to withdraw the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill in view of the flaws it had. The MPs pointed to the inherent conflict of interest in the Bill in that it was introduced in Parliament by the Union Ministry of Science and Technology which is also promoting GM crops. The provisions showed limited public participation, no transparency, lack...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Basudeb Acharia, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture interviewed by Gargi Parsai
-The Hindu The debate on the pros and cons of genetically engineered/modified crops is universal. In India, in the face of vociferous protests, the controversy has only deepened leading to a moratorium on cultivation of Bt Brinjal crop — the first GM food crop sought to be commercialised. Gargi Parsai spoke to Basudeb Acharia, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture, on its new report, “Cultivation of Genetically Modified Food...
More »Bt crops are everyone’s concern-Justice Sujata Manohar
-Tehelka Justice Sujata Manohar on how the Biotechnology Bill is fundamentally flawed IN THE last few years, regulatory systems across the board have been undergoing an overhaul to fit the needs of a new era. Likewise, new laws are being chalked out to meet new needs, and several are receiving flak owing to the loopholes and regressive grounds on which these have been drafted. The relatively more recent one to regulate modern...
More »GEAC, experts slip on basics? by Latha Jishnu
As the biotech industry takes heart from the prime minister’s remark, a fresh report shows India’s regulation and expertise on GM crops are sloppy BUOYED by the prime minister’s remark that NGOs were responsible for the moratorium on the release of GM or Bt brinjal, the biotech industry is stepping up its campaign to get it lifted along with “all constraints in the research and development work of biotech crops”. It...
More »Why We Oppose Biotechnology Regulation Bill by Bharat Dogra
The Union Government has prepared the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill, 2001 (BRAI in brief) for the regulation of the biotechnology sector in India. While the need for strong and careful regulation certainly exists keeping in view the serious threats posed to health and environment by the genetically modified (GM) crops, the BRAI can actually increase this threat by paving the way for the rapid spread of GM crops...
More »