Misleading the public on safety of genetically modified crops or organisms without scientific evidence would not be made a punishable offence, the government has decided following concerns raised by some scientists and civil society groups. A relevant clause to this effect in the proposed Bill to set up the National Biotechnology Regulatory Authority has been dropped, government sources have told The Indian Express.

it is the duty of governments to bring predictability into the uncertain lives of investors and business people. Entrepreneurs face more than enough insecurity in the marketplace. If India’s government does not ensure a reliable regulatory environment or if allows ministers to interfere in established institutional mechanisms, who will take courageous, long-term risks? Who will invent the seed that sparks a second green revolution? No wonder investors continue to believe that authoritarian China is more investor friendly than democratic India.

If a large section of mainstream media is to be believed India may soon witness mass hunger, demoralised scientists and economic recession if Bt brinjal is not allowed to be commercially cultivated. Childhood memories of brinjal, popularly called baingun, are curiously uniform across the country. As kids, no one seemingly had any fascination for the violet vegetable.

Even as the central government is assessing the policy on case by case basis, the Government of Kerala has today informed that they have taken a decision to prohibit environmental release of all Genetically Modified (GM) seeds and keep the state totally GM free.

Even as the last word is yet to be spoken on Bt brinjal, the issue has fallen under the scrutiny of a parliamentary panel. As most of

the committee members appear to be taking an anti-Bt brinjal stand, environment minister Jairam Ramesh may find an ally in his battle against the commercial release of the genetically modified vegetable.

The government today said a moratorium on Bt brinjal has been imposed till independent scientific studies establish its safety to the satisfaction of both the public and professionals. ”The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) in consultation with eminent scientists would draw up fresh protocols for specific tests to establish safety of the genetically-tweaked vegetable,” environment minister Jairam Ramesh said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

This was surely an interesting week. There was hardly a day when we didn’t see remarkable efforts -- across the spectrum -- to take the people for a simple ride. [...] Any size of media campaigns wouldn’t have yielded them the desired results. Instead of spending millions on advertisements, Monsanto has done it through smart media management. You will now see farmers making a beeline for Bollgard-II. Monsanto will now see its cash registers ringing.

The surcharged debate over GM crops and food has blundered into ominous terrain. Do civil society and scientists have the right to question government decisions on deployment of GM crops and foods? If a new draft bill for setting up a national biotechnology regulatory body goes through Parliament in its present form, exercising this right could be at the protesters’ peril. In plainspeak, that’s imprisonment for a minimum of six months and a fine to boot.

In a setback for genetically engineered cotton, Monsanto, innovator of the strain, confirmed what sceptics had said might well happen, that the pests it was supposed to resist better than natural cotton would also innovate. The company confirmed today that the pink bollworm, the damaging pest against which the genetically modified variety had been successful, had developed resistance to the protein in question, in parts of Gujarat.

Indian soymeal exporters could see sales to the European Union surge to 3 million tonnes in the next three years from a standing start as the 27-nation block seeks more non-GM varieties, a leading exporter said on Tuesday. As Brazil and Argentina increasingly grow genetically modified soybeans, India has an opportunity to become a leading exporter of non-GM meals made of non-GM soy seeds, said Girish Matlani, managing director of Sonic Biochem, India’s biggest exporter of soy products.