03/11/2022 - S & T

KEY POINTS

·        DMH-11, or Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11, a variety developed using genetic engineering techniques by Indian scientists and public funds.

·        The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), the apex regulator and an arm of the Environment Ministry, cleared the variety for environmental release.

·        The seed can be grown in fields for producing more of its kind and is a precursor to it being approved for commercial release.

·        DMH-11 employs genes from soil bacterium that makes mustard, a self-pollinating plant, amenable to being crossed with other varieties and producing hybrid varieties.

·        Hybrid varieties are generally more vigorous and, in the case of mustard, an oil seed, will produce more oil.

·        Despite having varieties of mustard, India continues to be a net oil importer due to poor yields.

·        The food crisis due to the Ukraine war has only exacerbated the problem.

·        It was only in 2020 that GEAC approved fresh field trials, which were in effect repetitions of earlier tests.

·        DMH-11 alone may not be the panacea for India’s edible oil crisis and rather represents a platform technology that requires seed companies to invest and develop their own hybrids.

·        To signal transformation, the Government must second the approval by GEAC and restore the system, whereby scientific consent rather than political considerations  determines the availability of products to farmers and consumers.

Kindly review

Kindly review

Pls evaluate.

Pls review