Can easing regulatory norms for gene-edited crops compromise bio-safety?

Experts working in the area clarified that the order does not completely exempt genome edited final products from regulatory oversight but instead does away with a need to get additional clearances

The government’s pathbreaking order on relaxing some of the stringent regulations for certain types of genome-edited crops issued on Wednesday could open a Pandora’s box with a section of the civil society fearing that it might lead to compromising biosafety standards and interference with natural gene of plants.

The civil society also feelsthat the opportunistic interpretation of the Environment Protection Act-Rules made by the Ministry of Environment and Forest while granting relaxation for genome edited crops need Supreme Court intervention.

However, scientists and experts working in the area clarified that the order does not completely exempt genome edited final