You may soon find India’s first genetically modified vegetable, Bt brinjal, making its way to your vegetable market. The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, which is responsible for approval of proposals relating to release of genetically engineered products, on Wednesday approved the environmental release of the vegetable but it still has to get a nod from the central government. Many in India are concerned over the harmful effects of the vegetable...

In a significant first for India, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee, the country's biotechnology regulator, has deemed Bt brinjal suitable for consumption. That clears the path for it to become the first genetically modified (GM) food crop to be commercially cultivated. Bt brinjal, and by extension all GM food, has been at the centre of a fierce debate over the safety and utility of GM food products. Criticism has focused...

Despite the government’s efforts to reduce maternal deaths by encouraging deliveries at health centres, the system continues to fail poor women. I gave birth in the developing world, in South Africa, to be precise. South Africa was in the spotlight recently when a government-commissioned report showed a 20 per cent increase in the number of deaths from pregnancy-related causes between 2005 and 2007 over the previous three-year period. The report...

On the day when the commercial release of Bt Brinjal was recommended by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) denied that Pusa Basmati 1121 rice (exported to the Middle East) was genetically modified as reported in a section of the Iranian Press. Obviously, the genetically modified rice has no export market, and attempts to brand Pusa 1121 as such were done on trade considerations to...

Civil society groups have cautioned the government against introducing genetically modified crops in the food chain and questioned the credentials of a panel of experts to look into the biosafety of Bt Brinjal, which will come up before the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) on Wednesday. The committee was set up by the GEAC to look into the findings of independent experts who raised concerns at the safety of Bt...