"Unapproved GM Cotton Traits Spread Despite Regulatory Ban"
GM crop
a plant whose genome is altered using recombinant DNA technology to add a new trait
GEAC
Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee, India's competent authority approving GM crops for cultivation
Genetically modified (GM) crops in India are regulated under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and its 1989 Rules, which created the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) as the competent authority (meaning: the body with legal power to decide) for approving GM crops. A GM crop is a plant whose genome has been altered using recombinant DNA technology to add a new trait, such as pest or herbicide resistance. India's experience with GM crops began with Bt cotton, carrying the Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab genes from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, marketed as Bollgard I and Bollgard II, approved for commercial cultivation in the early 2000s. These genes produce a toxin that kills specific bollworm insects but is harmless to humans and most other insects. This remains the only GM crop ever formally approved for commercial planting in India; other proposals, such as GM mustard, have faced prolonged legal contestation without reaching commercial cultivation.
Indian law also requires that any GM organism, including imported GM food, be cleared by the competent authority before use. This same approval requirement applies to new GM traits in crops already grown, such as cotton. Since the original Bt approval, farmer demand has shifted toward two further traits: herbicide tolerance (HT), which lets farmers spray weed-killers like glyphosate without harming the crop, and newer Bt genes like Vip3A, which controls the pink bollworm, an insect that has developed resistance to the older Cry1Ac/Cry2Ab genes. Neither trait has regulatory approval for commercial cotton cultivation in India.
GM mustard was developed to enable cross-pollination and hybridization in mustard plants, addressing the crop's natural self-pollination limitation. Bt brinjal contains a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (not a fungus) and has faced regulatory and public resistance in India despite development.
A large and growing share of India's cotton area is now planted with hybrids carrying these unapproved traits, according to industry estimates. Farmers obtain such seeds through informal channels: traders and small breeders carry out introgression (meaning: transferring a gene trait into a new variety through repeated cross-breeding) of unapproved genes into local hybrids, bypassing the official biosafety and seed-certification system entirely.
The driver is simple cost economics. Manual weeding is expensive and labour is scarce, while a few rounds of glyphosate spraying cost far less. …
Bollgard I and Bollgard II technologies are mentioned in the context of
Consider the following statements:
Statement-I:
India does not import apples from the United States of America.
Statement-II:
In India, by law, the import of genetically modified transformed food is prohibited without the approval of the competent authority.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
What are the reasons for the people's resistance to the introduction of Bt brinjal in India?
1.Bt brinjal has been created by inserting a gene from a soil fungus into its genome.
2.The seeds of Bt brinjal are terminator seeds and therefore, the farmers have to buy the seeds before every season from the seed companies.
3.There is an apprehension that the consumption of Bt brinjal may have adverse impact on health.
4.There is some concern that the introduction of Bt brinjal may have adverse effect on the biodiversity.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
Consider the following statements regarding genetically modified (GM) cotton in India:
1.Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab are the only Bt genes officially approved for commercial cotton cultivation in India.
2.Herbicide-tolerant (HT) cotton hybrids have been approved by the GEAC for commercial cultivation.
3.Vip3A is a next-generation Bt gene not yet approved for commercial cotton cultivation in India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
With reference to India's GM crop regulation, the 'Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)' derives its statutory authority from which of the following?
Match List-I (GM cotton trait) with List-II (its function/source) and select the correct answer using the codes given below:
List-I
A.Cry1Ac/Cry2Ab
B.Herbicide tolerance (HT)
C.Vip3A
List-II
1.Confers tolerance to glyphosate spraying
2.Controls pink bollworm, distinct mode of action from older Bt genes
3.Derived from Bacillus thuringiensis, controls bollworms, officially approved
Which of the following statements best explains why unapproved GM cotton traits have spread widely despite lacking regulatory clearance in India?
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