Pink Bollworm-resistant GM cotton gets green light for field trials in Haryana’s Hisar

Within months of approving new field trials for an array of genetically engineered crops including mustard, potatoes and rubber in the country for the first time in 16 years, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) has approved confined field trials for Pink Bollworm-resistant GM cotton in Hisar, Haryana.
The GEAC, India’s biotech regulator, at a meeting on 31 January, gave approval to Bioseed Research India, Hyderabad, to conduct Biosafety Research Level-1 (BRL-1) trial for resistance against Pink Bollworm during the Kharif season at Hisar.
While Bioseed Research India applied to conduct the BRL-I trials at five locations — Janwada (Telangana), Jalna (Maharashtra), Akola (Maharashtra), Junagadh (Gujarat), and Hisar (Haryana) — it has so far only received a no objection certificate from the Haryana government.
The BRL-1 trials are confined experiments where sowing is limited to one acre of land for each trial location. Researchers cannot sow the seeds in more than a cumulative of 20 acres at a time at this stage.
ThePrint reached a Bioseed spokesperson, who declined to comment.
Source: Theprint