About GM Crops
- GM Crops are the Genetically modified organisms (GMOs), i.e. their genetic material (DNA) has been altered artificially for desirable features like robustness, pest resistance among other.
- Transgenics are a subset of GMO where one or more DNA sequences from another species have been introduced artificially
- E.g., Bt. Cotton- contains a gene from a bacterium.
- Transgenics are a subset of GMO where one or more DNA sequences from another species have been introduced artificially
- Adoption Status in India
- In India, Bt cotton is the only GM crop approved for cultivation.
- In 2022, the Centre conditionally approved herbicide-tolerant GM mustard (DMH-11) for release into the environment.
- However, this approval is currently under review by the Supreme Court. The SC has called for evolving National Policy on GM Crops.
Why is the Adoption of GM Edible Oil Crop needed?
- Rising Consumption, Lagging Production: Per capita edible oil consumption has surged to 19.7 kg/year, outpacing domestic production.
- Growing population and urbanisation will further boost the demand.
- High Import Dependence: Imports now cover 55–60% of India’s edible oil demand. This rising dependence poses risks to food security and economic stability.
- Short-Lived Self-Sufficiency: India achieved oilseed self-sufficiency during the Yellow Revolution in the early 1990s, but it did not last long.
Adoption of genome editing is one of the strategies of ational Mission on Edible Oils – Oilseeds (NMEO-Oilseeds) launched to increase domestic edible oil production to 25.45 million tonnes by 2030-31.
