THE CONTEXT: United States negotiators are pressing India, ahead of the 9 July 2025 deadline for a bilateral trade package, to open its market to genetically modified (GM) corn, soyabean and dairy feed. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has publicly drawn “red lines”, cautioning that unfettered GM imports could threaten farm incomes and food safety.
THE BACKGROUND AND EVOLUTION OF GM TECHNOLOGY IN INDIA:
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- India commercialised Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton in 2002 under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. By 2024, Bt hybrids occupy over 90 percent of the 12 million-hectare cotton area, pushing the country to the world’s second-largest producer slot.
- Yield gains peaked at 566 kg/ha (2013-14) but have since slipped to 436 kg/ha (2023-24), well below the world average of 770 kg/ha.
- Other GM food crops like Bt brinjal (eggplant) and hybrid mustard DMH-11—cleared biosafety appraisal but remain blocked. Bt brinjal by a 2009 moratorium; GM mustard by litigation despite a 2022 “environmental release” nod from the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) and a split Supreme Court verdict in 2024.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: NATIONAL INNOVATION SYSTEM & PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE
India’s gene-tech debate sits at the intersection of two doctrines:
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- National Innovation System (NIS): It argues that coordinated R&D funding, IP incentives and market access are prerequisites for technological leapfrogging.
- Precautionary Principle: Embedded in the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1989, and repeatedly invoked by courts and activists to demand zero-risk evidence before commercial release. Reconciling both requires “proportionate regulation” that matches risk levels with oversight stringency.
WHAT–WHY–HOW OF GENETIC TECHNOLOGIES (GLOBAL SNAPSHOT):
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- Scale: In 2023, GM crops covered 200 million ha in 76 countries, dominated by herbicide-tolerant soyabean and insect-protected maize.
- Why it matters: Climate-resilient traits reduce input volatility, while nutritionally bio-fortified crops address hidden hunger.
- How it works: First-generation transgenics (Bt, HT) insert foreign DNA; newer CRISPR-based genome-edited plants (SDN-1/2) introduce precise, foreign-DNA-free edits now exempted from full GMO regulation under India’s DBT Genome-Edited Plants Guidelines 2022.
INDIAN EXPERIENCE WITH BT-COTTON: FROM BOOM TO PLATEAU:
| Indicator | 2002-03 | 2013-14 | 2023-24 | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Production (million bales) | 13.6 | 39.8 | 32.7* | *Third Advance Estimate |
| Yield (kg/ha) | 302 | 566 | 436 | Pest resurgence & seed fatigue |
| Export position | Net importer | $4.1 bn net export (2011-12) | $0.4 bn net import (2024-25) | Competitiveness lost |
PRESENT REGULATORY AND POLICY LANDSCAPE:
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- GEAC (MoEF&CC) authorises field trials and commercial release.
- Food Safety and Standards (Genetically Modified Foods) Regulations, 2022 propose mandatory approval and labelling for GM food imports.
- Cotton Seed Price Control Order 2015 capped trait fees at ₹39 and later ₹20 per packet, eroding R&D incentives.
- One Lakh-Crore Research & Development Innovation (RDI) Fund, announced in Union Budget 2024-25, offers 50-year interest-free loans to private innovators in “sunrise domains” such as ag-biotech.
MULTI-DIMENSIONAL CHALLENGES:
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- Technological fatigue: Bollgard-II no longer checks pink bollworm; studies estimate potential yield losses of 25 percent if unmanaged.
- Proliferation of illegal Herbicide-Tolerant Bt (HT-Bt) seeds: 15-35 percent of cotton acreage uses unapproved seeds, exposing farmers to uncertain performance and legal risk while undercutting licensed firms.
- Regulatory paralysis: Court cases, state bans on glyphosate and overlapping central-state jurisdiction delay approvals.
- Trait monetisation hurdles: Price caps and compulsory licensing dampen private R&D; exit of multinationals reduces technology inflow.
- Public perception: Precaution dominates discourse amid limited risk-communication capacity.
- Trade diplomacy: Refusal to allow GM feed strains negotiations with key partners and risks WTO disputes.
- Biodiversity & bio-safety: Legitimate concerns over gene flow to wild relatives and pollinator health demand robust post-release surveillance.
GLOBAL BEST PRACTICES & COMPARATIVE LESSONS:
| Country | Regulatory Approach | Outcome | Lesson |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Product-based; rapid deregulation of CRISPR maize | 95 percent GM adoption in major crops | Time-bound, science-led clearance |
| Brazil | Royalty-sharing with grower associations; high-yield cultivars (1 839 kg/ha cotton) | Export powerhouse | Align IP with farmer incentives |
| Bangladesh | Phase-wise, public-sector Bt brinjal release | Higher farm profits, consumer acceptance | Pilot-then-scale model for food crops |
THE WAY FORWARD:
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- Put a “single window” Biotechnology Regulatory Authority on statutory footing. Merge GEAC and FSSAI approvals, stipulate 180-day decision timelines, publish risk assessments online for transparency.
- Adopt a “trait-fee plus performance insurance” model. Let market-determined royalties coexist with a pooled crop-insurance fund so farmers share benefits and companies share liability.
- Approve next-generation HT-Bt cotton with stewardship conditions. Mandate refuge-in-bag seed design and enforce glyphosate prescriptions through QR-coded agro-dealer licences.
- Fast-track genome-edited public-sector varieties. Use the RDI Fund to subsidise ICAR and state-agricultural-university pipelines for drought-tolerant pulses and biofortified millets.
- Criminalise large-scale trade in illegal GM seed, not farmer use. Combine seed-packet geo-tagging with customs e-tracking to choke grey-market supply chains.
- Operationalise FSSAI GM-food labelling. Start with a 0.9 percent DNA threshold, build accredited testing labs in every major port and mandi, and run consumer-awareness drives.
- Create a National Resistance-Management Network. Real-time pest surveillance, AI-driven predictive models and farmer alerts via Kisan Sarathi app reduce resistance build-up.
- Leverage carbon-plus credits. Document pesticide reduction and soil-carbon gains from GM adoption to monetise on voluntary carbon markets for added farmer revenue.
- Negotiate science-based trade protocols. Use Cartagena Protocol’s Article 7 transformation events list to demystify equivalence with export partners while protecting domestic interests.
THE CONCLUSION:
Twenty-three years after Bt cotton’s debut, India stands at a fork. Continuation of regulatory drift risks import dependence and farmer distress. A calibrated, science-anchored embrace of modern biotechnology backed by transparent governance and farmer-centric economic incentives can deliver a “Gene Revolution 2.0”
UPSC PAST YEAR QUESTION:
Q. How can biotechnology help to improve the living standards of farmers? 2016
MAINS PRACTICE QUESTION:
Q. Cotton’s post-2015 stagnation underscores the limits of first-generation genetic modification in Indian agriculture. Critically examine the causes of this plateau.
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