Govt transparency move on production, import of GM crops triggers row

THE government has issued a draft notification to bring greater transparency to the decision-making process regarding production and import of genetically modified (GM) crops.

- JITENDRA CHOUBEY @New Delhi

However, petitioners and environmental activists said the move is superficial, and inconsistent with a Supreme Court directive.

The notification came in the backdrop of last year's Supreme Court order following two decades of hearing a batch of petitions against GM crops. It categorically asked the central government to get into broader and more transparent consultations to evolve a national policy on GM crops.