India 7th in producing transgenic crops in world: Sibal

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

New Delhi, May 15 (UNI) India is placed at seventh position in the cultivation of Bt Cotton with a total area of 1.3 million hectares being used for the purpose, during 2005 out of 21 countries cultivating transgenic crops globally, Parliament was informed today.

Minister for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply that Bt cotton cultivation area has increased by 400 percent between 2002 to 2004 and 160 percent from 2004 to 2005 in the country as per the report published by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri Biotech Applications in 2005.

Bt cotton cultivation in Andhra Pradesh has increased by about 600 percent by the year 2005 since its introduction in 2002, as per the sales data available with the Department of Biotechnology, he informed.

He said that India is providing financial support, technical and regulatory guidance to the investigators for development of new biotech crops to produce novel products like pharmaceuticals, specialty and fine chemicals which have specific global market requirements.

In another reply, he said a recommendation has been made by the Scientific Advisory Council of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for setting up an autonomous National Science and Engineering Research Foundation on the lines of the National Science Foundation of the US. The proposal is presently at the stage of inter-Ministerial consultations, he added.

UNI AJ PA DS1400

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