The draft biotechnology regulatory authority of India Bill has been stuck for four years. The watchdog proposed under the legislation will regulate modern biotechnology products ranging from genetically modified crops to living organisms that may be used in the drugs of tomorrow. While Parliament is yet to debate the Bill, thanks to its many disruptions, the legislation is a critical one and a decision is needed sooner rather than later.

Cotton yield in the country seems to be on a downswing in the last three years, despite production set to scale a new peak this season that began in October. The yield per hectare hit a record 554 kg in 2007-08. Since then, it has been dropping [...] “In the last two years, cotton has been grown in new areas where it has never been grown before. It is fine to reach 100 lakh hectares, but it is not desirable to reach 200 lakh hectares,” said Dr C.D. Mayee, President of Indian Society for Cotton Improvement. [...] “Some farmers in Maharashtra have taken to cotton farming without the requisite experience. It is one of the reasons for some committing suicide,” said a Maharashtra official.

India is likely to have genetically modified trees in its forest areas soon. The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education has planned to conduct researches in genetic engineering, genome mapping and nano technology to meet the future challenges. The ICFRE Director General, Dr VK Bahuguna said: “first we will begin with genome mapping and then gene selection and then decide which forest growing species will need transgene for faster growth.”

Scientists at the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Dharwad, have successfully grown coloured cottons, which they term as ’economical’ and ’eco-friendly’. [...] ”The new variety is not genetically modified. The coloured cottons are improved through conventional breeding/genetic improvement by using the improved white linted genotypes for crossing. It involves more than a decade’s effort and is still a continuous process,” they added.

An expert panel set up by the Centre to examine the impact of developmental projects in the Western Ghats has recommended a blanket ban on the introduction of controversial genetically modified crops in the eco-sensitive region in a yet-to-be released report. VS Vijayan, member of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), which was set up last year by the Union environment ministry, told HT, “The committee has strongly objected to the use of GM crops in Western Ghats. It will not only be economically harmful for farmers across the country but, it could also contaminate the natural, organic species.”

India’s agricultural future looks bleak as the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill 2011 is scheduled to pass in the current session of Indian parliament. This highly controversial bill calls for the formation of a new regulatory body that is the ultimate authority on the introduction of Genetically Modified crops in India. This body makes a mockery of both consumer protection as well as farmer rights, as it stipulates that the body will be made up of five members based within the Department of Biotechnology, the very body that funds GM crop research in the country. To add to the irony, the DBT is also the main agency for channelling funds from foreign governments to GM crop development projects.

”India is on the wrong track, ignoring advantages of transgenic crops,” says B. Sesikeran, Director, National Institute of Nutrition ”Over 50 percent of children below five years in India are underweight. And, escalating food prices have ensured that the poor constantly reduce their intake. Yet, we lag way behind in adopting technology, while countries with surplus and relatively inexpensive food continue to embrace it,” said B. Sesikeran, Director, National Institute of Nutrition.

The recent resolution by the GEAC to seek state government’s no objection to allow biotech firms to conduct field trials for Bt crops has affected around 100 field trials. The genetic engineering approval committee, which is the apex body in the country to approve field trials for all genetically modified varieties of crops, introduced a new rule that bioagri companies must obtain a no objection certificate (NOC) from the respective state governments before acquiring approval from the GEAC for conducting field trials.

Agriculture Group in collaboration with the Central Press Club of Madhya Pradesh is aggressively looking to ensure that farmers in the state adopt biotech to ensure sustainable food production. [...] ABLE-AG members comprise both Indian companies like Advanta, JK, Mahyco, Metahelix, Nath, and multinational companies – Bayer, BASF, Devgen, Dow, Pioneer-a DuPont business, Monsanto, and Syngenta, which are focussed on delivering farm value today, and lab-to-farm innovation.

The former judges of Supreme Court S P Jeevan Reddy, Kuldeep Singh and M H Kania in a similar statement have expressed serious concern saying the ministry mandated to promote bio-technology was introducing the bill. They also said that the regulatory framework should have experts from other related ministries such as environment, agriculture, health and rural development. “The primary mandate of any biotechnology bill must be to ensure safety to consumers, farmers and the environment and not to facilitate quick clearances,” the judges said. They also found the bill lacking in ensuring that citizens have a right to reject a Genetically Modified food, gram sabha refusal to all sowing of GM food crops and ensure that there is no contamination of environment because of GM crops.