As the regulatory impasse continues after the sordid saga of the moratorium on Bt brinjal, another battle front has been opened by the anti-biotech activists demanding a complete withdrawal of the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill. For them, they do not see anything good happening from any regulation that would facilitate safe deployment of modern biotech products. For them, “regulations” means “stop” or “kill” the technology. Anti-technology activists have...

Genetic approval committee rejects transgenic groundnut INDIA’S Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) has rejected a request by University of Agricultural Sciences in Bengaluru to conduct trials on transgenic groundnuts for commercial development in difficult terrain. The university wanted to conduct trials for drought and salt tolerance. GEAC noted that transgenic groundnut expresses transcription factors— proteins that bind to specific DNA sequences—namely DREB2A, DREB1A, DREB1B and PDH45, to improve its stress tolerance. DREB2A...

The Centre has informed the Supreme Court that it is planning to set up a special authority to evaluate and regulate genetically modified crops (GM) and food. Solicitor-general Gopal Subramanium has informed a bench headed by Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia that the proposed authority will look into the grievances of the anti-GM crop activists. “We are looking at setting up a special authority to resolve such issues.… It will also look into...

Bangalore-based Foundation of Biotechnology Awareness and Education (FBAE) has asked the government to lift the indefinite moratorium imposed on commercial introduction of Bt brinjal in the country by the ministry of environment and forest (MoEF). It stated that the indefinite moratorium has created a 'regulatory uncertainty' on the development of all genetically engineered crops which are at the various stages of development in the country. Stating that the environment ministry is strongly...

EVEN as the fate of Bt brinjal hangs in balance, the parliamentary standing committee attached to the agriculture ministry has started examining the pros and cons of introducing genetically-modified food in India, with a panel of experts coming out in favour of setting up a regulatory mechanism to monitor their implications. At the first meeting of the parliamentary panel on the sensitive subject here this afternoon, three experts, including Delhi...