Team:IIT Delhi/BRAI

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The Hindu recently quoted Arvind Kejriwal of the new Aam Aadmi Party, during the launch of an anti-BRAI and anti-GM campaign at Jantar Mantar as saying that:

Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal said his party was opposed to genetically modified crops and his colleague Prashant Bhushan had filed a PIL in the Supreme Court against it. “The Aam aadmi is unaware of GM crops and the BRAI. He/she does not understand it. If they did, then this demonstration site [at Jantar Mantar] would have been milling with people as it concerns their health and safety. Regulation spells corruption and our party is striving to change the political system that breeds corruption.”

However, on contacting AAP by email, they told us:

I am not sure what was quoted at Hindu (Newspaper) - but what I can say at this moment, is that,we have formed many committees on all issues related to policy matters. We are waiting for their recommendations, once we have those, we will place those on public domain & will seek people's verdicts/comments/suggestions/feedback on those. Then we will talk about policy matters.

Meanwhile, most recently it looks like India may impose a moratorium on open field trials of Bt crops until 'adequate regulatory mechanisms and safety standards are put in place'. However, the article does not say if TEC's (Technical Expert Committee) interim report extends this to all GM field trials.

However, this is limited to crops, and there is no moratorium on manufacture of drugs. Meanwhile, it seems public opposition to the BRAI bill is growing, lead by organisations like Greenpeace.

In coming posts, we will be looking at the Bill, and how it compares to regulation in other countries.