While the moratorium on the commercial introduction of Bt brinjal will continue for now, it may not last indefinitely. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who addressed the issue among his combative ministerial colleagues this evening, is said to have asked for a swift assessment of all scientific and safety issues relating to the genetically-modified (GM) variety of the vegetable.
Political leaders cutting across party lines have joined hands with the civil society to launch a nationwide campaign against GM crops and the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill.
Efforts by Indian activists to challenge the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority Bill, now pending in Parliament, may get a boost from a controversy that has broken out in the US
The company said it had conducted two separate trials for its intranasal Covid vaccine, one as a primary dose schedule and another as a booster dose, for subjects who have been double vaccinated with the two commonly administered Covid vaccines in India.
The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) has recommended the environmental release of the genetically modified (GM) mustard variety DMH (Dhara Mustard Hybrid)-11, paving the way for the commercialisation of the country's first GM food crop. The GEAC said the recommendation was valid for four years from the date the approval letter was issued. Further studies and coordinated trials will have to be conducted jointly with the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) within two years, according to the minutes of the GEAC meeting held on October 18, which was released on Wednesday.
Currently, the country is using two 'made-in India' jabs -- Covishield and Covaxin -- to inoculate its billion-plus population and has administered 20 crore doses since launching the world's largest vaccination drive in mid-January. A third vaccine, Russian-made Sputnik V, has been approved by the government and is being used on a smaller scale at present.
There is a need to have a 'CEO for Mumbai' in order to realise the ambition of making it a global financial centre.
In September, Bharat Biotech aimed to supply 35 million doses, and take this up to 55 million by October. This is still less than what the Indian government expects from the company.
Over the last four days, the Indian arm of US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, Pune-based Serum Institute of India and Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical firm Bharat Biotech have applied to the Drugs Controller General of India seeking emergency use authorisation for their COVID-19 vaccines.
'Well begun is half done, today there are more hits than misses by the Modi government in its support towards science in India,' says Pallava Bagla.
Anti-GM voices have inadvertently spurred farm scientists to support the use of gene manipulation for producing stress-resistant crops.
This is the joint statement issued by the ministry of external affairs on the visit of US President Barack Obama to India.
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