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Illegal GM hybrids cover up to 30% of cotton area: study

By CAShorts DeskPublished Updated Source: The Indian Express

Illegal GM hybrids cover up to 30% of cotton area: study
Illustration (AI-generated)

A field study commissioned by seed-industry bodies FSII and NSAI estimates that 24-30% of India's 114.8 lakh hectares under cotton in 2025-26 carried unapproved genetically modified traits. Samples showed widespread herbicide-tolerant and next-generation Bt genes. Labour shortages and costly hand-weeding are pushing farmers towards glyphosate-tolerant seeds, bypassing the biosafety approval system.

Syllabus: Prelims · Current Affairs & IR; GS3 · Agriculture & Irrigation; GS3 · Science & Technology

Why it matters

By this study's estimate, up to 30% of India's cotton area is now sown with seeds that never cleared the government's safety checks. Farmers are not doing this out of carelessness: workers for hand-weeding are scarce and expensive, and a plant that survives weedkiller lets them spray instead at a small fraction of the cost. But seed sold outside the law comes with no official check on its safety or quality and no one answerable if it fails. The spread also shows that the approval system for new crop technology is being bypassed at scale, by farmers and by an organised supply network, which raises the question of whether the rules still match what growers need.

Prelims pointers

  • Approved Bt cotton genes in India: cry1Ac and cry2Ab, from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, coding for proteins toxic to certain bollworms.
  • cp4-epsps, from a soil agrobacterium, confers glyphosate tolerance; Vip3A is a Bt-derived gene that works differently from cry genes. Neither is approved in India.
  • Glyphosate does not distinguish crop from weed, so it can be sprayed on cotton only if the plant carries a herbicide-tolerance gene.
  • The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), in the environment ministry, appraises GM organisms under 1989 rules framed under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
  • The study was commissioned by the Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) and the National Seed Association of India (NSAI).
  • Gene testing used dipstick or lateral flow assays and ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay).
  • The study's director attributes Vip3A's spread to pink bollworm control, as first-generation Bt hybrids have become vulnerable to the pest.

Practise a UPSC-style question

Consider the following statements about the regulation of genetically modified (GM) crops in India:

1. The cry1Ac and cry2Ab genes in India's approved Bt cotton come from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis.

2. New GM traits need clearance from the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee, which functions under the Union Ministry of Agriculture.

3. The 1989 rules under which GM organisms are appraised were framed under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. (a) 1 and 2 only
  2. (b) 2 and 3 only
  3. (c) 1 and 3 only
  4. (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only

1 is correct: both genes, used in India's approved Bt cotton, are isolated from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis and code for proteins toxic to certain bollworms. 2 is incorrect: the GEAC sits in the Union environment ministry, not the agriculture ministry. 3 is correct: the GEAC appraises GM organisms under rules of 1989 framed under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

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