Yield stagnation in India is primarily because of the vast majority of inappropriate hybrids. [...] Bt cotton is available only as Bt hybrids available in over 1,000 brands, while in the rest of the world Bt cotton is available only as a few straight varieties. [...] Hybrids also tend to be input intensive, so they are not suitable for at least half the area in the country, which is under marginal soils in rain-fed regions. Additionally, many hybrids are susceptible to sap-sucking insects, leaf-curl virus and leaf reddening, adding to input costs. [...] Indiscriminate use of any technology becomes rate-limiting and counter-productive. This was the lesson we refused to learn with the misuse and overuse of synthetic pyrethroids in India between 1980 and 1995, and now we are repeating the mistakes with Bt cotton.