-Business Standard Claims that GM mustard will lead to increased yield are incorrect; we must focus on other solutions. India is the fifth-largest producer and also the seventh-largest importer of edible oils in the world. Though significant progress has been made in the production and yield of oilseeds in India, our annual vegetable oil import has been about $10 billion in recent years. The Ministry of Environment is allowing for genetically modified...

-The Hindu This is the first time that a Central ministry has endorsed the safety and benefits of the seed in Parliament Field trials of the transgenic mustard variety, DMH-11, revealed them to be higher yielding and they didn’t deter the pollination habits of honey bees, Union science minister Jitendra Singh said in Rajya Sabha in a written response to a query. Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 (DMH-11) had recently been approved by the Genetic...

-The Hindu “It would have been better if seed production trials take place in a controlled rather than in an open environment so as to assess various risks before conducting open field trials,” read a statement by the AIPSN. Following the go-ahead for production and field testing of hybrid seeds of genetically modified (GM) mustard, All-India Peoples Science Network (AIPSN) has demanded that the open field tests, if any, be conducted with...

-Down to Earth Over 100 doctors across India submit letter to PM Modi warning of health concerns Doctors across India have come together to express their concern against the plantation of genetically modified (GM) mustard crops, which recently received the Centre’s go-ahead for its environmental clearance. A letter has been submitted by 111 doctors across various fields to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding immediate uprooting of the trial plantations of the genetically modified...

-The Telegraph Sarson Satyagraha has claimed that India is nearly self-sufficient in mustard oil production New Delhi: A group of farmers and scientists on Friday announced its intention to step up resistance against what they view as the Centre’s moves towards the release of genetically modified mustard for commercial cultivation. “We will activate all possible democratic and non-violent avenues available to us and ensure that GM mustard planting does not end up being...