Enhancing mustard yields

Genetically tweaked variety can increase production. It would be unwise for India to deny its commercialisation

The environmental clearance granted by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) to the indigenously developed transgenic Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 (DMH-11) needs to be viewed as another bid by this scientific advisory body to pave the way for the introduction of gene-altered food crops, which can revolutionise Indian agriculture. This committee, functioning under the environment ministry, had earlier approved this mustard hybrid for general cultivation in 2017 but the government had then blocked this move under pressure from the anti-genetic modification lobby, including the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), an affiliate of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s ideologue, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.