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A high-level roundtable convened 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), has called for science-based regulatory reforms and faster approval processes for genetically modified (GM) and genome-edited (GE) crops to accelerate their safe adoption in India.
According to the statement released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, participants at the roundtable reached a broad consensus that India's biotechnology regulatory system should be made more efficient, transparent and globally competitive while maintaining high biosafety standards. The roundtable said that "the regulatory framework must evolve to keep pace with advances in biotechnology, particularly genome editing, while maintaining the highest standards of biosafety and environmental protection." It further called for "a science-based, transparent, efficient, and risk-proportionate regulatory framework with streamlined, time-bound approval processes accessible to both public and private innovators." The participants also stressed that "timely adoption of safe GM and GE crops is vital for enhancing climate resilience, productivity, nutritional security, farmer incomes, and the global competitiveness of Indian agriculture." The ministry said India already has a multi-tiered regulatory framework for transgenic crops under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, involving agencies such as the Department of Biotechnology's Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM), the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), ICAR and other ministries. However, it noted that rapid advances in genome-editing technologies, including CRISPR-based systems, changing global regulatory practices and the need for climate-resilient agriculture require a review and modernisation of the existing framework. ICAR Director General and DARE Secretary Dr ML Jat said there was a need for "a balanced regulatory system that facilitates the safe deployment of modern biotechnologies to achieve food and nutritional security, climate resilience, and sustainable agricultural growth." TAAS Chairman Dr RS Paroda said India has the scientific capability to become a global leader in agricultural biotechnology and added that the recommendations from the roundtable should help create "an enabling policy environment that promotes responsible innovation while safeguarding human health, biodiversity, and the environment." The recommendations from the meeting will be compiled into a policy document for submission to the concerned ministries and regulatory authorities to support evidence-based reforms in the regulation and approval of GM and genome-edited crop plants in India. (ANI)
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