Scientists urge PM Modi to lift stay on GM mustard before 2025 sowing

Senior agricultural scientists write to PM Modi urging coordinated action to lift the stay on GM mustard, stressing biosafety and global adoption ahead of sowing season

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Ahead of the 2025 mustard sowing season, a group of senior scientists have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging coordinated action to lift the stay on genetically modified mustard. They asked the government to present a clear policy framework for genetically modified crops in court with the necessary documents, in the best interest of the country.

 

The letter has been signed by Dr R S Paroda, former Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE); Dr G Padmanaban, former Director of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore; Prof R B Singh, former Director of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute and former Assistant Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization for Asia-Pacific; Dr B S Dhillon, former Director of the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi; Dr C D Mayee, former Chairman of the Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board, New Delhi; and Dr Ashok K Singh, former Director of ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, among others.

 

The scientists pointed out that globally, genetically modified crops were grown on around 210 million hectares in 2024, with recent approvals in China, Kenya and Nigeria further increasing the cultivated area.

 

They noted that in October 2022, India’s Ministry of Environment approved the environmental release of GM mustard for hybrid seed production, including the first hybrid DMH-11, with post-release ICAR-led trials and pollinator studies. However, the process has since been caught in multiple legal disputes, causing further delays.

 

On safety concerns, the scientists said that the genes used have been deployed safely in rapeseed for hybrid development in Canada, the United States and Australia for decades without adverse effects. All biosafety tests conducted in India on mustard showed no negative impact.

 

“Once again missing the mid-October sowing window of 2025 will waste one more season for obtaining crucial data, hybrid development and commercial release for cultivation by farmers. We have already lost two crucial years since the GM mustard was released in 2022, depriving farmers of the benefit of a made-in-India technology,” the letter stated.