New Delhi: Agricultural scientists, policymakers and industry representatives have called for a comprehensive overhaul of India’s regulatory framework for genetically modified (GM) and genome-edited (GE) crops, arguing that faster, science-based approvals are essential to improve climate resilience, food security and farm productivity, a release by the agriculture ministry read Sunday.
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The recommendations emerged from a high-level roundtable organised by the Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences (TAAS), in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII), “which brought together more than 80 experts to discuss reforms in the regulation of GM and GE crops,” as per the release.
Presiding over the meeting, ICAR Director General and DARE Secretary ML Jat said India needed a balanced regulatory system that facilitates the safe deployment of modern biotechnologies while ensuring biosafety and environmental protection.
Participants said that although India has a multi-tiered regulatory framework for transgenic crops under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, rapid advances in genome-editing technologies and changing global regulatory practices require the system to be modernised, the release stated.
The roundtable reportedly recommended simplifying existing testing guidelines while maintaining high biosafety standards.
The recommendations, which stressed that timely adoption of safe GM and GE crops could boost agricultural productivity, nutritional security, farmer incomes and India’s global competitiveness, will be consolidated into a policy document for submission to the relevant ministries and regulatory authorities, the release said.
