Petitioners have moved the Supreme Court against the Environment Ministry’s approval for the commercial cultivation of genetically modified mustard.
| Photo Credit: R.V. MOORTHY
Ahead of a fresh series of hearings in the Supreme Court next month over genetically modified (GM) food crops, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) said there was “progress” on this front.
“The matter is sub judice but GM mustard stories are being taken up again,” DBT Secretary Rajesh Gokhale said at a biotechnology event on Friday. The DBT, which has for years funded research and development into transgenic and GM food crops, comes under the Ministry of Science and Technology.
At present, Bt cotton is the only genetically modified crop allowed to be cultivated. Though the Environment Ministry gave its conditional go-ahead for commercial cultivation of GM mustard in 2022, it has not taken off as it was challenged in the Supreme Court.
Science Minister Jitendra Singh who was also at the event, said, “There is so much dynamism in biotechnology development that we cannot look at tomorrow through the prism of today.”
Hearing from April 15
On March 6, a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court said it will begin hearing from April 15 petitions challenging the Environment Ministry’s approval for cultivation of GM mustard. The court has told all parties to file their written submissions within a week.
A two-judge Bench of the top court, on July 23, 2024, gave a split verdict on the validity of the Centre’s 2022 decision granting conditional approval for the environmental release of GM mustard crop. However, it also directed the Centre to formulate a “national policy” on GM crops.
Mr. Gokhale told The Hindu that the DBT had provided “technical inputs” to the Union Environment Ministry, which was formulating the policy and was the “nodal coordinator”.
Safety concerns
GM mustard, developed using public funds, was the first transgenic food crop to be approved for farmer fields by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee, a scientific body. However, it wasn’t approved for cultivation following safety objections by activist groups.
However, the use of biotechnology to improve food crops – as in the case of GM mustard – is a key focus of the government’s BioE3 policy. This involves manufacturing new kinds of enzymes, pharmacueticals and agricultural products while applying techniques, including genetic engineering.
A report released by the DBT at the event on Friday on the current state of India’s ‘bio-economy’ says that bio-agriculture accounts for 8.1% – the smallest share – of the $165.7 billion bio-economy in India. “Valued at $13.5 billion, this segment enhances agricultural productivity and resilience through genetically modified crops like Bt Cotton and precision agriculture technologies,” the report notes.
In the bio-economy, the bio-industrial segment (enzymes,biofuels, bioplastics) made up 47% of the bio-economy, followed by biopharma (medicines, diagnostics) at 35%, bioIT/research services (contract research, clinical trials) at 9%, and finally bio-agriculture. In 2024, Maharashtra led India’s bio-economy contributing 21% ($35 billion), followed by Karnataka 19% ($32 billion), and Telangana 12% ($19 billion). There were 10,075 biotech-startups in 2024. This is expected to grow to 22,500 by 2030 creating 35 million jobs, the report added.
Published – March 21, 2025 10:22 pm IST
