The Parliamentary standing committee on agriculture came up with its 37th report on ‘Cultivation of Genetically Modified Food Crops – Prospects and Effects’. Basudeb Acharia, the chairman of the committee, presented the report in the parliament on August 9, 2012. The report covers wide range of issues like approval of Bt brinjal and regulations for genetically modified (GM) crops in India.
I suspect Indian scientists have retired hurt to the pavilion. They were exposed to nasty public scrutiny on a deal made by a premier science research establishment, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), with Devas, a private company, on the allocation of spectrum. The public’s verdict was that the arrangement was a scandal; public resources had been given away for a song. The government, already scam-bruised, hastily scrapped the contract. Since then there has been dead silence among the powerful scientific leaders of the country, with one exception. Kiran Karnik, a former employee of ISRO and board member of Devas, spoke out. He explained it is wrong to equate this deal with the scam of mobile telephony, where it was alleged that the minister fiddled with procedures to hand out spectrum at throwaway prices. The reason is that this band of spectrum called S-band, reserved for use in satellites, is different from terrestrial spectrum used by mobile operators. In the S-band the users are different, risks are higher and the customer base is smaller. Hence, the cost calculations done for terrestrial spectrum cannot be used to estimate the loss to the exchequer in the ISRO-Devas contract.
By: Sunita Narain I suspect Indian scientists have retired hurt to the pavilion. They were exposed to nasty public scrutiny on a deal made by a premier science research establishment, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), with Devas, a private company, on the allocation of spectrum. The public’s verdict was that the arrangement was a scandal; public resources had been given away for a song.
On February 9, minister of state for environment Jairam Ramesh announced an indefinite moratorium on introducing Bt brinjal. Read more:
On February 9, minister of state for environment Jairam Ramesh announced an indefinite moratorium on introducing Bt brinjal—the first genetically modified crop for mass production in India. In doing so, he overruled the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) that had approved commercial cultivation of the food crop on October 14, 2009.
A new bill leaves little scope for dissent on GMOs by Savvy Soumya Mishra If the nationwide furore over Bt brinjal was driven by the fear of unsafe food being pushed down the throat, the proposed Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) bill goes a step further to silence all opposition. The bill will bring about changes in regulating the research, transport, import, manufacture and use of genetically modified (GM) products in the country.
Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has come out in support of the verdict on Bt-brinjal given here today by Jairam Ramesh, minister of state (independent charge) for environment and forests.
The minister for environment and forests has announced his decision on Bt-brinjal – whether the world’s first genetically modified vegetable should be given permission to be grown and eaten in the country. And before I discuss the issues further, let me also make my own bias clear. I am not an anti-GM-person. In other words, I have no ideological problems with the use of genetically modified technology to improve crop yields. But I am anti-Bt-brinjal and believe the minister is right in not giving clearance.
Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has come out in support of the verdict on Bt-brinjal given here today by Jairam Ramesh, minister of state (independent charge) for environment and forests.
New Delhi, October 15, 2009: The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said today that the government should not clear any genetically modified food crop till the time we have strict provisions for labelling. Bt brinjal will be one of the few crops which are used for human consumption directly and not processed into bread or used in other processed foods. “Clearance of such a crop requires the authorities to practice extreme caution.
Anti-GM groups say expert panel acted under pressure by Savvy Soumya Misra A coalition of organizations opposed to genetically modified food in India has written to the minister of state for environment and forests seeking withdrawal of clearance given to Bt brinjal. The Coalition for GM-free India alleged the expert committee that cleared the genetically modified brinjal for commercial cultivation in the country was neither impartial nor thorough.