Environment minister Jairam Ramesh seemed to have won the day over his dissenting cabinet colleagues, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh backing the minister's decision for a two-year moratorium on Bt brinjal while asking that issues raised with regard to the transgenic crop be sorted out soon.
The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), the clearance authority under the environment ministry, will be asked to expeditiously address the questions of science and public health that Ramesh had referred to in his 19-page report. The PM was apparently of the view that the issue should not be allowed to drag on.
A release, after the PM's meeting with agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, science and technology minister Prithviraj Chavan, HRD minister Kapil Sibal and Ramesh, said, "It was agreed that biotechnology is an important option for higher agricultural productivity and ensuring food security. At the same time, we must ensure that it has no adverse effects on human and animal health and biodiversity."
Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Ramesh-gets-PMs-backing-on-Bt-moratorium/articleshow/5613091.cms
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