Regulatory Approach Towards GM Technology in India, USA and EU: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

The article mainly deals with the complications involved in the regulation of genetically modified (GM) technology in India by comparing it with the regulatory mechanisms developed in the USA and the European Union (EU). The only GM crop that has been approved for commercial cultivation in India is Bt cotton. It has been observed that apart from Bt cotton, whenever the Indian regulatory bodies tried to approve any other GM food crops, protests have erupted from several sections of the Indian civil society. As a result, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has been compelled to take political decision of not to allow GM crops for commercial cultivation. This led to the increase in the political conflict among supporters and detractors of GM crop technology. Both the USA and the EU have explicitly established either product-based or process-based regulatory approaches. But in India, the regulation is still evolving. In that respect, this article highlights some of the existing regulatory loopholes and kinds of confusions that prevail in Indian regulatory system.