The government’s parliamentary reply that three genetically modified varieties of vegetables—tomato, brinjal and cauliflower—will be in commercial production in three years clarifies a situation made murky by constant activism. This should be taken as proof that the government is serious about bringing about a second Green Revolution in a fast stagnating agriculture sector. India has been very slow to adopt GM technologies and has thus missed the opportunity to exploit the many advantages that come with GM farming. GM crops, at a minimum, offer the unambiguous benefits of higher yields and greater resistance to pests, both of which could give a big boost to the average farmer.

Experiments with genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes planned in India by a British company in a move to find a way to control dengue fever have taken sections of the scientific community by surprise. ”I am trying to get full details about what is going on,” V.M. Katoch, secretary in the Department of Health Research and chief of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said. [...] ”Two years ago Oxitec came to us for testing its technology but we said no,” said P. Jambulingam, director of VCRC. ”We also made it clear to them that India did not encourage this method for mosquito control. I do not know how the company managed to get permission from RCGM.” A.P.Dash, then director of the ICMR’s National Institute of Malaria Research (NIMR), says he rejected Oxitec’s proposal when RCGM sought his comments.

Even as the controversy rages over the transgenic Bt brinjal which awaits approval to start commercial production, Indian scientists have developed a genetically modified (GM) fish, which could be the first genetically engineered animal to get into the human food chain. [...] While a regulatory mechanism exists for overseeing the research and safety trials of GM plants before their formal approval for commercialization, no such arrangement exists for GM animals and other organisms.

India is home to a vast reservoir of biological—hence genetic wealth. This is the foundation of the country’s food and nutritional security. Preserving the wild relatives of crop plants in the vicinity is the surest means of infusion of healthier germplasms—and hence of crop improvement and abundance. Selection by farmers and cross-breeding, if necessary, is a superior alternative to any kind of genetic engineering, which invariably reduces diversity. As for transgenic engineering, it should never, never be allowed.

Members of All India Crop Biotechnology Association (AICBA) Wednesday called for adoption of innovative technologies to boost crop productivity to meet food security needs. [...] AICBA director Sajiv Anand said, ”India must invest in agriculture biotechnology to increase productivity, produce more affordable and better quality food and improve farmers’ income. Growing adoption of GM crops could contribute to achieving the UN’s Millennium Development Goal to help reduce poverty and hunger by half by 2050.”

The CIC has directed the Department of Biotechnology to provide crucial data pertaining to genetically modified agricultural products to an environmentalist working with voluntary group Greenpeace. [...] The company claimed non-disclosure of data citing section 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act which exempts information from disclosure if it includes commercial confidence, trade secrets and intellectual property. But it has a rider that such details can be disclosed in larger public interest. The Commission held, ”toxicity and allergenicity of any product to be put on large-scale trial is a matter of overriding public interest.”

When the world gets warmer with climate change, the dryland tracts will become even drier making it more difficult for the farmers to grow crops in this region. The improved crops developed by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), and its partners, are able to withstand severe droughts, tolerate higher temperatures and mature early, enabling the farmers to be ready to meet the challenges of climate change.

Nobel laureate Dr Richard J Roberts today said genetically modified food was safe and those opposing it were doing so out of vested interest. [...] he flayed the European Green Party for whipping up opposition against GM food. ”They are pursuing it to meet their own political ends,” he claimed. [...] ”This technology is not new. It existed 10,000 years ago in Mesopotamia.

Under the project, the company is planning to identify 10,000 corn and cotton farmers across Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh to improve their socio-economic conditions by increasing crop productivity. This is a four-year programme which Monsanto is planning to kick off during the current kharif season. Delhi-based non-governmental organisation ISAP (Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals) will conduct a study to identify small and marginal farmers from the three states.

A recent study was conducted in Vidharbha, India to determine the effect of Bt (Bacillius thuringiensis) cotton on the microbial population of various soil micro-organisms. The results indicated a significant decline in total microbial biomass in the Bt soil. If current trends continue, the researcher estimated that 6.7 million hectares of planted Bt transgenic crops in India were in danger of becoming sterile and unable to grown anything within the next 10 years.