{"id":75388,"date":"2025-11-28T11:04:35","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T05:34:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=75388"},"modified":"2025-11-28T11:10:47","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T05:40:47","slug":"indias-shift-to-genome-edited-crops-faster-approvals-new-traits-and-fresh-policy-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/indias-shift-to-genome-edited-crops-faster-approvals-new-traits-and-fresh-policy-push\/","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s Shift to Genome-Edited Crops: Faster Approvals, New Traits, and Fresh Policy Push"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Genome-Edited Crops Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s genetically modified (GM) crop adoption has stalled since the approval of Bt cotton in 2006.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, genome-edited (GE) crops are progressing rapidly. In May, two GE rice lines\u2014improved versions of <\/span><b>Samba Mahsuri<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>MTU-1010<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014were cleared after multi-location trials in 2023 and 2024.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The enhanced Samba Mahsuri line showed a 19% average yield increase, while the GE MTU-1010 variant demonstrated tolerance to saline and alkaline soils.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A third GE crop, a canola-quality mustard variety resistant to major fungal diseases and pests, is currently in its second year of trials across 16 locations.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If successful, it may be released by August 2026, signalling a new phase in India\u2019s agricultural biotechnology.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>How GE Differs from GM: The Science Behind India\u2019s New Crop Breeding<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Genetically modified (GM) crops introduce <\/span><b>foreign genes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from unrelated species, such as Bt genes from <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bacillus thuringiensis<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> used in cotton to produce insect-killing proteins.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Genome editing (GE), however, <\/span><b>modifies<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> only the plant\u2019s own native genes.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using protein enzymes that act as \u201c<\/span><b>molecular scissors<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,\u201d GE alters specific DNA sequences to change how a gene functions\u2014without adding foreign DNA.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A custom-designed guide RNA directs these scissors to the exact spot in the genome.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For India\u2019s new GE rice and mustard lines, scientists used <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/crispr-cas9\/\" target=\"_blank\">CRISPR-Cas technologies<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cas9 edited the drought-and-salt tolerance gene in MTU-1010 rice and 10 glucosinolate transporter genes in mustard.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cas12a edited the cytokinin oxidase 2 (Gn1a) gene in Samba Mahsuri rice to increase cytokinin levels, boosting the number of spikelets and grain yield.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Importantly, Cas proteins\u2014sourced from bacteria\u2014appear only in the first-generation GE plants and are removed in subsequent breeding.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The final <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GE plants are transgene-free, unlike GM crops that retain permanently inserted foreign genes<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Policy Push for Genome-Edited (GE) Crops in India<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GE plants that contain no foreign DNA are exempt from the stringent biosafety regulations applied to GM crops.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Under a March 2022 MoEFCC memorandum, GE crops require only approval from an Institutional Biosafety Committee, which must certify that no exogenous DNA is present.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This bypasses the earlier requirement of clearance from the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/geac\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)<\/strong><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for field trials, seed production, or environmental release.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because GE crops are considered similar to normal plant varieties, they face minimal regulatory hurdles, enabling faster research, trials, and eventual deployment compared to GM crops.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Strong Government Funding Support<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The government has backed GE crop development through major funding allocations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Research on improved GE rice varieties began in 2018 through the National Agricultural Science Fund.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 2023\u201324 Union Budget allocated <\/span><b>\u20b9500 crore<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> specifically for genome editing.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Large Pipeline of GE Targets Identified<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ICAR scientists have mapped and prioritised key genes across major crops for targeted editing:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">178 target genes identified in 24 field crops (cereals, pulses, oilseeds, cotton, sugarcane, jute, tobacco).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">43 genes identified in 16 horticultural crops (vegetables, fruits, spices).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most of these crops now have full genome sequences available, allowing researchers to locate each gene precisely on its chromosome.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once a gene\u2019s role in a trait is known, it can be specifically edited to improve yield, stress tolerance, nutrition, disease resistance, and more.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>A Clear Signal of Policy Shift<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Together, relaxed regulations and major funding underscore the government\u2019s intent to make genome editing a mainstream tool in India\u2019s crop-breeding strategy \u2014 a shift from the stalled GM crop pathway.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Building Human Resource Capacity for India\u2019s GE Revolution<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Training Scientists in Advanced Genome Editing<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Developing GE crops requires specialised skills.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So far, nine ICAR scientists have undergone advanced training in the US, Europe, Australia, and CIMMYT (Mexico), with 12 more scheduled for upcoming international training.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Collaboration with Global Leaders in GE<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In February 2025, the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) \u2014 founded by Nobel laureate <\/span><b>Jennifer Doudna<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, co-inventor of CRISPR-Cas9 \u2014 conducted intensive training sessions for IARI scientists and students.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IGI also supplied advanced GE tools such as GeoCas9 and CasLambda, expanding India\u2019s editing toolkit beyond Cas9 and Cas12a.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Indigenous Breakthrough: India\u2019s Miniature GE Tool<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A team led by Kutubuddin Ali Molla at the Central Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, has patented a homegrown genome-editing system based on <\/span><b>TnpB proteins<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Transposon-associated proteins).<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Key advantages:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Much smaller proteins than Cas9\/Cas12a \u2192 easier delivery into plant cells<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cheaper due to indigenous IP, avoiding costly foreign licensing<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Highly effective for precision gene editing<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><b>India Positioned to Lead in GE Crops<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With global collaborations, domestic innovation, and robust capacity-building, India is on track to advance its genome-editing ecosystem.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unlike GM crops \u2014 stalled for years \u2014 the GE pathway appears poised for sustained growth and adoption.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b style=\"font-size: inherit;\">Source:<\/b> <strong><a style=\"font-size: inherit;\" href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-sci-tech\/from-gene-modification-to-genome-editing-indias-journey-10382129\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <\/strong><a style=\"font-size: inherit;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fda.gov\/food\/agricultural-biotechnology\/genome-editing-agricultural-biotechnology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><strong>FDA<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India accelerates genome-edited (GE) crops with relaxed regulations, CRISPR tools, and major funding\u2014marking a shift from stalled GM crop adoption.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":75415,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[3919,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-75388","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-genome-edited-crops","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75388\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}