ABSTRACT
Genetically Modified (GM) Crops have their DNA altered i.e. a gene extracted from a living thing and placed in a different food by a scientist or an expert through genetic engineering to enhance desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content. In contrary to conventional plant breeding methods, genetic engineering can create plants with the exact desired trait with great accuracy. However, the introduction of Genetically Modified (GM) crops into the environment and the food chain has become contentious issues in the India and else around the world. India adopted set of internationally accepted procedures of safety and risk assessment of GM crops that lead to the development of a regulatory system which protects human health and the environment and at the same time commands public confidence. The biosafety, risk assessment, agronomic evaluation, environmental impact and commercialization of GM crops involve carefully drawn guidelines, which are accepted under the Rules for the Manufacture, Use, Import, Export and Storage of Hazardous Micro-Organisms, Genetically Engineered Organisms or Cells in 1989 of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 of the Ministry of Environment and Forests. In this research work, the author will examine the regulatory structure in assessing ecological risk associated with the introduction of GM technology.
