Genetically Modified Crops- Need of the Hour: An Indian Perspective

The sustainable growth in agriculture faces many challenges owing to the limited availability of land and water besides the biotic stresses (pests, insects) and abiotic stresses (drought, saline, heat, floods etc.). The unreliable rainfall in India and poor irrigation facilities further aggravate the problem of food crop production. Due to such climatic unpredictabilities, there is a dire need for the development of improved crop varieties. The goal of such an approach is to focus on the production of new varieties that can withstand the biotic and abiotic stresses and may add to the food productivity with better yields and nutritional enrichment. Advances in genetic engineering have contributed to the development of improved crops where scientists have been able to engineer desirable traits making them more beneficial. Although concerns have been raised in the past (vis-a-vis consumer acceptance, mandatory vs voluntary labeling of genetically modified (GM) products, approval of regulatory procedure), nevertheless GM crops have the potential to be the game changer in the Indian agriculture and will prove to be a boon to decrease the drudgery of the common Indian farmer and increase his prosperity in absolute terms. Several aspects need to be taken into account from sowing of seed, overcoming the stress of drought, salinity and frost at the outset to decreased dependence on chemical pesticides, herbicides, decreased use of insecticides, improving the nutrient profile of crops, prevention of spoilage, increasing the shelf life and higher profit gains and last but not least protecting the environment.GM crops offer tremendous scope for the farming community, society at large and the nation on the whole.