GM Crops

The Union Environment Ministry on Saturday rebutted the claims made by activists that statutory regulations were violated during the appraisal and approval of GM mustard in India, saying the product was conditionally cleared only after stakeholder consultation. The Coalition of GM-free India, a group of NGOs opposing genetically modified crops, had on Friday released a report alleging that no (independent) health expert ever participated in GM mustard appraisal. In a response issued on Saturday, the ministry said: "The Assessment of Food and Environmental Safety (AFES) report prepared by the sub-committee in 2016 with regard to the biosafety dossier of GM mustard was uploaded on the ministry's website for inviting comments by the public for a period of 30 days (from September 5 to October 5, 2016). "Further, the entire dossier was also made available for review by the public in the ministry's office for the same duration," it said. "The conditional environmental release of GM musta

Claims 15 instances of compromise of country's established regulatory regime in report released just days before Supreme Court again hears matter on GM crops

Indian Institutions engaged in developing GM seeds for 13 crops

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The govt has cleared the 'environmental release' of a genetically modified variety of mustard. The move has been challenged in the apex court. But exactly are they? And, what's the around them?

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Claims that GM mustard will lead to increased yield are incorrect; we must focus on other solutions

Usually wheat is sown in around 30.5 million hectares of which so far around 15.28 million is already sown

ICAR's research centre DRMR has planted the genetically modified (GM) mustard hybrid DMH-11 in six field trial plots for evaluation of yields, days before a petition was filed in the top court challenging biotech regulator GEAC's decision to allow the DMH-11 for "environment release". The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), a regulatory body of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, had recommended the environmental release of the DMH-11 seed for trials, demonstrations and seed productions under the supervision of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in a meeting on October 18. Dhara Mustard Hybrid (DMH-11) is a hybrid seed variety -- developed by the Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants at the Delhi University -- that has stirred a storm between scientists, farmers and activists over its environmental release. The anti-GM group has knocked the doors of the Supreme Court. Speaking to PTI, Directorate of Rapeseed-Mustard ...

The Centre has told the Supreme Court that opposition to Genetically Modified (GM) crops is unfounded as India is already importing and consuming oil derived from it. In an affidavit filed before the top court, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) submitted the average prices of refined palm oil, soy oil and mustard oil are increasing continuously and India needs to be independent in oil production to meet the domestic consumption demand. The ministry told the apex court that mustard is the most important oil and seed meal crop of India, grown in around 8-9 million hectares of land and the approval for the "environmental" release of transgenic mustard hybrid, DMH-11, has been given after a long and exhaustive review process. "As India is importing and consuming oil derived from GM crops, opposition to such (technologies) based on unfounded fears will only hurt the farmers, consumers, and the industry," the affidavit said. The affidavit was filed in response to a plea agai

Almost 200 activists gathered outside the Directorate of Mustard Research in Bharatpur (Rajasthan), calling for halting the approvals

The bench queried the Centre's counsel on the current status in connection with the environmental release of GM mustard

New hybrid GM seeds could potentially raise mustard yields to 3.0-3.5 tonnes per hectare, he said, up from around 1.3 tonnes now

Government agri-research body ICAR can conduct field demos and trials of the recently approved GM-mustard hybrid DMH-11 this rabi season and make it available for commercial use within three years, top officials of agri think-tank NASS and TASS said on Monday. On October 25, the environment ministry approved the "environment release" of transgenic mustard hybrid DMH-11 and the parental lines containing barnase, barstar and bar genes so that they can be used for developing new hybrids under the supervision of The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Addressing a joint press conference, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NASS) President Trilochan Mohapatra and Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences (TAAS) Chairman R S Paroda said the environment release of DMH-11 is a "landmark decision" breaking a long logjam on the release of GM food crops. The ICAR should be in a position to conduct field demonstrations and trials of DMH-11 in the next 10-15 days in key .

Even the opinion of farmers' groups seems divided after AIKS comes out in support

The Swadeshi Jagran Manch on Friday opposed a regulatory body's recommendation for environmental release of genetically modified mustard, calling it "dangerous" and urged the Centre to ensure that the crop's seed is not allowed to be planted "now or ever". In a letter to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, the RSS-affiliated organisation accused the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) of functioning in an "irresponsible fashion" and said the claims made in support of genetically modified (GM) mustard were "completely untrue, unsubstantiated and wrongly projected". "Swadeshi Jagran Manch has all along been opposing this dangerous and unneeded GM mustard being brought in through the backdoor as a public sector (genetically modified organism (GMO)," Swadeshi Jagran Manch co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan said in the letter. The ministry had earlier kept the regulatory clearance for the operationalisation of the recommendation made in favour of GM mustard in abeyance to se

This, several experts said, is a firm indication that the matter has been cleared at the highest echelons

Scientists say this could be first such approval for a GM variety of Indian mustard anywhere in the world