Government of India told the Supreme Court that Genetically Modified (GM) crops such as mustard will make quality edible oil cheaper for the common man and benefit national interest by reducing foreign dependency.The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) has approved the environmental release of Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 (DMH-11), a genetically-engineered variant of mustard.If approved for commercial cultivation it would be the first genetically modified food crop available to Indian farmers.
India’s Demand for Edible oil
- The total edible oil demand of India was 24.6 million tonnes (2020-21) with domestic availability of 11.1 million tonnes (2020-21).
- In 2020-21, 13.45 million tonnes (54%) of the total edible oil demand was met through import worth about ₹1,15,000 crore, which included palm oil (57%), soybean oil (22%), sunflower oil (15%) and small quantity of canola quality mustard oil.
- In 2022-23, 155.33 lakh tonnes (55.76%) of the total edible oil demand was met through import.
- India is the biggest importer of palm oil, which makes up 40% of its vegetable oil consumption.
- India meets half of its annual need for 8.3 MT of palm oil from Indonesia.
- In 2021, India unveiled the National Mission on Edible Oil-Oil Palm to boost India’s domestic palm oil production.
Genetically Modified (GM) Crops
- GM crops are derived from plants whose genes are artificially modified, usually by inserting genetic material from another organism, in order to give it new properties, such as increased yield, tolerance to a herbicide, resistance to disease or drought, or improved nutritional value.
- Earlier, India approved the commercial cultivation of only one GM crop, Bt cotton, but Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) has recommended GM Mustard for commercial use.
GM Mustard
- Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 (DMH-11) is an indigenously developed transgenic mustard. It is a genetically modified variant of Herbicide Tolerant (HT) mustard.
- DMH-11 is a result of a cross between Indian mustard variety ‘Varuna’ and East European ‘Early Heera-2’ mustard.
- It contains two alien genes (‘barnase’ and ‘barstar’) isolated from a soil bacterium called Bacillus amyloliquefaciens that enable breeding of high-yielding commercial mustard hybrids.
- DMH-11 has shown approximately 28% more yield than the national check and 37 % more than the zonal checks and its use has been claimed and approved by the GEAC.
- “Bar gene” maintains the genetic purity of hybrid seed.
Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee
- The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) functions in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
- It is responsible for 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 appraisal of proposals relating to 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.