India govt may back GM crop field trials

Certain states may have reservations against Genetically Modified (GM) crops, but the Centre has backed field trials of such varieties in "national interest" and even asked investors to look at the potential of transgenic seeds-driven business opportunities in India. 

 

Developments on this front in the past three days show how the government is inclined to make GM a success story in India as long as the genetically engineered crops do not have any adverse impact on health and environment. 

 

At the time when some BJP-ruled states under pressure from RSS-backed organizations declined to give their nod for field trials of transgenic seeds, Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday told Parliament that his government was of the view that "research in GM and confined field trials for generating bio-safety data with all due precautions should be allowed to continue in the national interest". 

 

In a written response to a Parliament question, he also said there was no ban on GM crop field trials by the government or the Supreme Court -- sending a clear signal to those states which have, of late, denied permission for field trials despite approval from the central regulator Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC). 

 

A day after Javadekar's statement, the official twitter handle of the government's 'Make in India' plan on Thursday tweeted in favour of genetically engineered crops. It said, "Hybrid seeds (including GM seeds) represent new business opportunities in India based on yield improvement". 

 

It continued its GM pitch on Friday and tweeted, "India has the potential to become a major producer of transgenic rice & several genetically modified (GM) vegetables". 

 

These tweets reflect what the government's 'Make in India' website has enlisted as key "reasons to invest" in biotechnology sector in India. 

 

The mention of GM food crops - rice and vegetables - is significant as there has been long pending demand from multinational seed companies and scientists for lifting barriers in India for entry of transgenic food crops after the success story of Bt Cotton (the lone non-food GM crop which is allowed for commercial cultivation in the country). 

 

Recently, the GEAC had approved trials of 13 transgenic varieties of rice, wheat, maize, sorghum, cotton, brinjal, mustard, potato, sugarcane and chickpea. It had, however, made it mandatory for seed companies, research institutions and scientists to first take approval from the state where they want to go for field trials. 

 

Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, have, however, denied them permission. While Gujarat had refused to give its nod for field trials of GM food crops, the other states did not agree for trials of any transgenic variety of seeds. Incidentally, all these five states are BJP-ruled. But, non-BJP ruled states too are in the list of naysayers. 

 

After the GEAC's decision, many anti-GM groups including the RSS-linked Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) had written to Javadekar asking him not to give the ministry's nod to such approval by the central regulator. The SJM has been vehemently opposing field trials of GM crops in India for years. 

 

It is now evident that though the BJP-ruled states, under pressure from RSS-linked groups, may be cautious in their approach towards GM crops, the Centre does not have any objection towards field trial - a prerequisite before allowing commercial cultivation. 

 

The other states that denied nod to seed companies for field trials of food crops include Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.