The scientific and policy debate on the potential benefits and risks of biotechnologies remains polarized. As more genetically modified crops, insects, and fish are developed, the 2000 Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity provides a forum to monitor developments and address risk assessment and risk management …
Opposition is building up against the Biotech Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha recently. The Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Madhya Pradesh has joined the list of those who want the Centre to withdraw the Bill, which provides for setting up a regulator for the …
New efforts to force labeling of foods made with genetically modified crops, including a bill introduced by U.S. lawmakers Wednesday, have struck a nerve with biotech crop developers who say they are rushing to roll out a broad strategy to combat consumer concerns about their products. Executives from Monsanto Co., …
The parliamentary panel says govt has failed to understand the urgency of timely infusion of capital in the system A Parliamentary panel has pulled up the government for allocating meagre budget of Rs 25,553 crore for agricultural research during the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) saying the government has "failed …
The National Biodiversity Authority and the Division of Nature Management, Norway have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish the first ever Centre for Biodiversity Policy and Law (CEBPOL) in Chennai. Addressing reporters after signing the memorandum, National Biodiversity Authority chairman Dr Balakrishna Pisupati and head of the Norwegian …
The National Biodiversity Authority and Norway Government’s Division of Nature Management will set up a Centre for Biodiversity Policy and Law. Addressing media persons after signing the agreement that provides for the Norwegian Government’s support to setting up the Centre here in Chennai, the Biodiversity Authority’s Chairman P. Balakrishna, said …
The Coalition for a GM-Free India expressed deep disappointment at the Government’s action of sneaking in the controversial Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill 2013, in Parliament today (22nd April, 2013) despite strong opposition from parliamentarians, scientists, civil society groups and other analysts to this controversial and unacceptable Bill. …
Making a case for genetically-modified (GM) technology to boost farm output, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said scientists should not be denied the right to conduct field trials of such crops. “We cannot afford to curtail the vigour of our scientific community and deny them the right to conduct trials, as …
Greenpeace India demands the Union Minister for Environment and Forest, Jayanthi Natarajan, under whom sits the GEAC, to stop all open releases of GM crops, including those for field trials Press release - January 29, 2013 New Delhi: Jan 29, 2013: In a startling development an independent scientific analysis released …
This independent scientific analysis released by Greenpeace India exposes major flaws in the Genetically Modified (GM) corn biosafety assessment process by the regulatory bodies in India. An independent scientific analysis released by Greenpeace India exposes major flaws in the Genetically Modified (GM) corn biosafety assessment process by the regulatory bodies …
This paper describes the series of events which took place in India from the development of Bt brinjal to its initial approval by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)a to the declaration of a moratorium on it by the Minister of Environment & Forests and events thereafter. It discusses the …
India will soon have a facility to contain the most dangerous organisms known to mankind with heightened security. Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad will inaugurate the first-ever Bio-Safety Level-IV facility in Pune on Friday. This will be the first ever such laboratory in Asia. The BSL-4 facilities contain the …
An indigenous Bt cotton variety Bt Bikaneri Narma developed through a collaborative effort can no more be used for cultivation. A probe conducted by a five-member team, headed by Jawaharlal Nehru University Vice-Chancellor S.K. Sopory has termed the development of the strain ‘invalid’. The indigenous cotton variety was jointly developed …
ICAR “shielding errant officials” by delaying the report In a damning indictment of the way some Bt cotton varieties were developed and commercialised in the country, a committee headed by Prof. S.K. Sopory, Vice-Chancellor of JNU, found that indigenous Bikaneri Nerma (BN) Bt cotton variety was contaminated by a gene …
The Indian Society for Cotton Improvement (ISCI) has recently released a comprehensive book on "Bt Cotton Questions & Answers" authored by Dr. K R Kranthi, Director of the ICAR's Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR), Nagpur, India. The book has hundred questions on Bt cotton, time and again raised by …
The objection raised by NGOs and other expert panels against Bt cotton have been “speculative, confusing and without any reasonable assessment of technological strength”, Parliament was informed today. Bt cotton is the only transgenic crop approved for commercialisation in the country till date. In a written reply to the Lok …
Dual-use research of concern (DURC) is the research that is intended for legitimate benefits, but also carries a risk of being misused. In this article, the work related to regulation of dual-use influenza virus research involving genetic engineering of the subtype H5N1 has been compared with the research involving regulation …
Close to 100 scientists from across the country and several farmers groups have appealed to the Supreme Court to accept in toto the interim report of the court-appointed Technical Expert Committee (TEC) in the matter of field trials of genetically modified (GM) crops. In its interim report submitted to the …
An open letter sent by nearly a hundred Indian scientists to the Supreme Court. They write in support of the report of the Supreme Court's Technical Expert Committee (TEC) calling for a 10 year moratorium on GM field trials while regulation is put in order. The scientists come from across …
Letter to the Supreme Court from Dr Sudarshan Iyengar, the Vice Chancellor of Gujarat Vidyapeeth on GM crops - Appeal to judge and order with due consideration to harmonious relationship between nature and human beings in the case of field trials of GM Crops.
The SC must reject the biased interim report of the committee on GE crops While hearing two writ petitions opposing genetic engineering technology in agriculture, the Supreme Court constituted a technical expert committee with six members and seven terms of reference. It asked the committee to hear interested parties and …
