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Regulatory Mechanisms in India
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The top biotech regulator in India is the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC). The committee functions as a statutory body under the Environment Protection Act 1986 of the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF).
- It was earlier known as the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee. Under the EPA 1986 “Rules for Manufacture, Use, Import, Export, and Storage of Hazardous Microorganisms/Genetically Engineered Organisms or Cells 1989”, GEAC is responsible for granting permits to conduct experimental and large-scale open field trials and also approving commercial release of biotech crops.
- The Rules of 1989 also define five competent authorities i.e. the Institutional Biosafety Committees (IBSC), Review Committee of Genetic Manipulation (RCGM), Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), State Biotechnology Coordination Committee (SBCC), and District Level Committee (DLC) for handling of various aspects of the rules.
PS: A Biotechnology Regulatory Authority was proposed, but the bill lapsed due to the dissolution of 15th Loksabha.
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Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)
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- The Committee shall function as a Statutory Body under the Ministry of Environment & Forests for approval of activities involving large-scale use of hazardous living microorganisms and recombinants in research and industrial production from the environmental angle as per the provisions of rules 1989.
- The Committee shall also be responsible for approval of proposals relating to the release of genetically engineered organisms and products into the environment including experimental field trials as per the provisions of Rules, 1989.
- The Committee shall be responsible for approval of proposals involving the use of living-modified organisms falling in the risk category Ill and above in the manufacture/import of recombinant Pharma products or where the end product of the recombinant Pharma products per se is a living modified organism.
- The Committee may co-opt other members/experts to the GEAC by the provisions of Section 4, para 3 of the Rules, 1989 as necessary.
- The Committee may also appoint subgroups/sub-committees/expert committees to undertake specific activities related to compliance with biosafety.
- One-third of the members of the GEAC will constitute the quorum for convening the meeting.
- The members of the GEAC will be required to sign a ‘Statement of Declaration of Independence’ and ‘Statement of Confidentiality’ (as per the enclosed proforma).
- The Committee shall function for three years from the date of issue of this notification.
- With the approval of the Chairman GEAC, if required, representatives of other Ministries and other experts may be invited as ‘Special Invitees’ to participate in the meeting of the GEAC depending on the issues to be discussed.
Major companies interested in Genetically Modified crops in India include Monsanto India, Mahyco, and BASF. The industry body — Association of Biotech Led Enterprises- Agriculture Group (ABLE-AG) wants a progressive push to the march of GM technology in India.
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Genetically Modified Crops in India
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The country has yet to approve commercial cultivation of a GM food crop. The only genetically modified cash crop under commercial cultivation in India is cotton.
- Bt Cotton – For the time being, the only genetically modified crop that is under cultivation in India is Bt cotton which is grown over 10.8 million hectares. Bt cotton was first used in India in 2002.
- Bt Brinjal – The GEAC in 2007, recommended the commercial release of Bt Brinjal, which was developed by Mahyco (Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company) in collaboration with the Dharward University of Agricultural Sciences and the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. However, the initiative was blocked in 2010.
- GM-mustard – Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 or DMH-11 is a genetically modified variety of mustard developed by the Delhi University’s Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants. The researchers at Delhi University have created a hybridized mustard DMH-11 using “barnase/barnstar” technology for genetic modification. It is a Herbicide Tolerant (HT) crop. If approved by the Centre, this will be the second GM crop, after Bt Cotton and the first transgenic food crop to be allowed for cultivation in the country.
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Controversies and Moratoriums associated with GM Crops in India – Timeline
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- 2002 – Bt cotton was introduced in India.
- 2006 – Activists filed a PIL against GM crops in the Supreme Court.
- 2010 – The then environmental minister Jairam Ramesh blocked the release of Bt Brinjal until further notice owing to a lack of consensus among scientists and opposition from brinjal-growing states. No objection certificates from states were made mandatory for field trials.
- 2012 – The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture, in its 37th report, asked for an end to all GM field trials in the country.
- 2013 July – New crop trials have been effectively on hold since late 2012 after a Supreme Court-appointed expert panel recommended suspension for 10 years until regulatory and monitoring systems could be strengthened. Though the SC panel suggested a moratorium on GM trails, there was no official verdict from the Supreme Court on this issue.
- 2013 July – Environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan put on hold all trials following SC panel suggestions.
- 2014 – Her successor, Veerappa Moili cleared the way for trials. (NB: Two of Manmohan Singh’s environment ministers had stalled GM trials earlier, but Veerappa Moily took an opposite stand and the process of approving the one-acre field trials restarted.)
- 2014 March – GEAC (UPA government) approved field trials for 11 crops, including maize, rice, sorghum, wheat, groundnut, and cotton.
- 2014 July – 21 New varieties of genetically modified (GM) crops such as rice, wheat, maize, and cotton have been approved for field trials by the NDA government in July 2014. The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) — consisting mostly of biotechnology supporters — rejected just one out of the 28 proposals up for consideration. Six proposals were rejected for want of more information.
- 2016: GEAC gave a green signal to GM Mustard for a field trial, but SC stayed the order and sought public opinion on the same.
There is an array of crops — brinjal, tomato, maize, chickpea — in various stages of trials that employ transgenic technology. However, cotton remains the only transgenic crop that is being commercially cultivated in India.
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