Progress on GM food crops, according to official statement.

• DBT Secretary Rajesh Gokhale stated that GM mustard stories are being revisited.
• The DBT, under the Ministry of Science and Technology, has funded research into transgenic and GM food crops.
• Currently, Bt cotton is the only genetically modified crop allowed for cultivation.
• The Environment Ministry gave conditional approval for commercial cultivation of GM mustard in 2022, but it has not been successful as challenged in the Supreme Court.
• A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court will begin hearing from petitions challenging the Environment Ministry’s approval for GM mustard cultivation.
• Safety concerns have been raised over GM mustard, which was the first transgenic food crop approved for farmer fields.
• The government’s BioE3 policy focuses on using biotechnology to improve food crops, including GM mustard.
• A report by the DBT indicates that bio-agriculture accounts for 8.1% of India’s $13.5 billion bio-economy.