February 28, 2012 To: Shri M F Farooqui, Chairperson, Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee, Ministry of Environment & Forests, Paryavaran Bhawan, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi 3. Dear Shri Farooqui, Sub: Field Trials of GM Crops in Gujarat violative of EPA 1989 rules It has come to light through responses to RTI queries that […]
PM’s statement a purposive attempt to prevent a healthy debate on GM crops in India
Prime Ministers Statement – Is a purposive attempt to prevent a healthy debate on GM crops in India It reeks of an inherent disrespect for science and democracy 27th February 2012: The Coalition for a GM-Free India is outraged by the statement made by the Prime Minister Sri.Manmohan Singh on foreign-funded NGOs as being the […]
“GM FIELD TRIALS IN GUJARAT VIOLATIVE OF EPA RULES: RTI RESPONSES”
Sharing with media copies of information obtained through Right To Information Act, activists of Coalition for a GM-Free India pointed out that the open-air field trials of GM maize permitted in Gujarat are violative of EPA norms and demanded their immediate destruction. Apart from Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat is the only state to have allowed any […]
Feb 9th is National Safe Food Day !!
Coalition for a GM-Free India celebrates Feb 9th as National Safe Food Day New Delhi: February 9, 2012: On the second anniversary of the decision taken by the then Minister for Environment & Forests to declare a moratorium on Bt brinjal, the Coalition for a GM-Free India has decided to mark and celebrate February 9th […]
Monsanto OFFICIALLY caught in illegal planting of GM maize in UAS Dharwad
“BLACKLIST MONSANTO IMMEDIATELY : MNC CAUGHT VIOLATING BIOSAFETY NORMS YET AGAIN IN GM MAIZE TRIAL, THIS TIME OFFICIALLY” New Delhi/Bengaluru, February 6th 2012: Ahead of a regulators’ meeting on February 8th 2012, and reacting to the confirmed reports of Monsanto’s illegal planting of Herbicide Tolerant (HT) maize in its GM maize trial, the Coalition for […]
ADVERTISING STANDARDS COUNCIL OF INDIA CONCLUDES THAT MAHYCO MONSANTO BIOTECH’S CLAIMS ON BOLLGARD ARE NOT SUBSTANTIATED
A prominent advertisement by Mahyco-Monsanto Biotech Ltd titled “Bollgard boosts the Indian cotton farmers’ income by over Rs. 31,500 crores” that appeared in Hindustan Times on August 30th 2011, was found to be not substantiated in its claims by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). ASCI found that the claims made in the advertisement […]
Sharad Pawar reiterates State Govts authority….
In a letter to the Chattisgarh Agriculture Minister Mr Chandrasekhar Sahu, Sharad Pawar, Union Agriculture Minister reiterates that if the state government does not agree for conduct of any GM crop field trials in the State, no approvals would be accorded by GEAC for such trials (However, this is not quite the case now since […]
Kerala Govt reiterates its stand against GM crops
In a letter to activists, the Kerala Government’s Secretary, Agriculture, reiterates the government’s stand against GM crops and informs that the state government has already conveyed its stand of not permitting any GM research or even trial, within the boundaries of Kerala to Government of India. Letter of Secretary-Agriculture-kerala can be downloaded here.
India’s ‘public sector indigenous Bt cotton’ a scientific fraud!
Coalition for a GM-Free India demands immediate stopping of all public sector transgenic research and an independent enquiry and action against fraudulent scientists. 2011 ends with a big blot to the Indian scientific community, as was the case in 2010 too. The much-hyped public sector Bt cotton lines (Bikaneri Narma Bt variety and NHH-44 Bt […]
Hyped Desi Cotton has Monsanto gene!
India’s claim of having developed its own Bt cotton (genetically modified) variety has taken an embarrassing turn with an RTI inquiry by two scientists revealing how the University of Agriculture Sciences (UAS) at Dharwad went ahead — brushing aside all precautions — to produce an indigenous variety working on a gene originally patented by Monsanto. […]
Scientific Fraud: Misconduct by UAS-Dharwad in the name of Bt cotton
In the name of Bt cotton production, spurious act of developing Bt cotton A misconduct in the name of developing Bt Cotton, by University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad came to the notice of Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR). In the last eight years, as the Bt cotton seed prices were increasing, agriculture researchers, knowledgeable […]
One more MP writes to the PM on the BRAI Bill
Mr Ramsundar Das, the JD (U) leader in Lok Sabha and a former Chief Minister of Bihar, wrote to the PM on the BRAI Bill. A copy of the letter is available here.
Creating an Undemocratic and Unaccountable Biotechnology Regulator
ESG’s Critique of the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill 2011 can be accessed here’s. Creating an Undemocratic and Unaccountable Biotechnology Regulator Biotechnology is a cross cutting issue that affects food production, farming, health, environment and information technology sectors. It is to be expected then that formulation of any law governing this high risk technology […]
Madhya Pradesh opposes Biotech Regulatory Bill
You can download Dr Ramakrishna Kusmariya’s letter to Mr Vilasrao Deshmukh here. Madhya Pradesh opposes Biotech Regulatory Bill Madhya Pradesh has decided to officially oppose the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill, to be tabled in the Parliament on Tuesday. State Agriculture Minister Ramkrishna Kusmaria has written to Union Science and Technology Minister Vilasrao […]
Farmers protest against BRAI Bill
Farmers protest against BRAI Bill A group of farmers staged a demonstration outside the residence of Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda here on Monday. They were protesting against the Biotech Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill that is scheduled to be tabled in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. “The Chief Minister should have written to […]