The Government of India for the first time has issued an order exempting certain types of genetically modified crops from the strict regulations applicable to genetically modified or transgenic crops, giving a major boost to their research and development.
By an order of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, genome-edited SDN1 and SDN2 plants are exempted from Rules 7-11 of the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) for the manufacture, use, import or export and storage of dangerous microorganisms or genetically modified Has been. ,
“The notification will pave the way for the government to approve and set guidelines on genome-edited plants, pending since early 2020,” said Bhagirath Choudhury, founding director of the South Asia Biotechnology Center (SABC).
Although genome editing was discovered in 2012, it took almost a decade for Indian regulators to realize its potential with crops resistant to biotic and abiotic stress and nutritional superiority, according to the report.
In recent times, many countries have developed or approved the commercial cultivation of vegetables, fruits, oilseeds and cereals grown through genome editing, such as gamma-aminobutyric acid or GABA high oleic acid in tomatoes, canola and soybeans, fungi that cause retardation. No, and c.
China also recently passed genome editing guidelines that will boost research into high-yield crops resistant to pests and climate change. “The current notice exempting certain categories of genome-edited plants from cumbersome regulations will encourage breeders and researchers to harness the power of genome editing for the betterment of the farming community,” said SBAC’s Choudhury.
