Supreme Court delivers split verdict on nod for GM mustard
- July 24, 2024
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Supreme Court delivers split verdict on nod for GM mustard
Sub: Sci
Sec: Biotech
Context:
- The Supreme Court issued a split verdict on the Centre’s 2022 decision to grant conditional approval for the environmental release of genetically modified (GM) mustard crops.
Details:
- Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Sanjay Karol called for the Centre to create a national policy on GM crops, covering research, cultivation, trade, and commerce.
- On October 18, 2022, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) recommended the environmental release of transgenic mustard hybrid DMH-11.
What is DMH-11?
- The full form of DMH is Dhara Mustard Hybrid. It is a genetically modified crop, only second after GM cotton, to get approval for being inducted into the environment for seed production and testing. GM cotton is commercially used in India.
- The signature feature of DMH is that it carries a gene for herbicide resistance. i.e. herbicide tolerant.
- It has been developed by scientists from the Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants (CGMCP), Delhi University.
- They developed the hybrid containing two alien genes isolated from a soil bacterium called Bacillus amyloliquefaciens.
- The barnase-barstar GM technology was deployed to develop DMH-11. The researchers took a popular Indian mustard variety ‘Varuna’ (the barnase line) with an East European ‘Early Heera-2’ mutant (barstar).
- It contains 3 important genes Bargene, Barnase and Barstar, all derived from soil bacterium.
- It would be a high-yielding variety of the mustard crop.
- This is significant because it can help India achieve self-sufficiency in oil production and save on forex. Currently, India is the world’s leading importer of edible oils and more than 50% of the domestic demand for edible oils is met through imports.
Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC):
- It functions under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
- It is responsible for the appraisal of activities involving large-scale use of hazardous microorganisms and recombinants in research and industrial production from the environmental angle.
- The committee is also responsible for the appraisal of proposals relating to the release of genetically engineered (GE) organisms and products into the environment including experimental field trials.
- GEAC is chaired by the Special Secretary/Additional Secretary of MoEF&CC and co-chaired by a representative from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT). Presently, it has 24 members and meets every month to review the applications in the areas indicated above.
Source: TH