GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE

LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 3155

ANSWERED ON:16.03.2010

BT. BRINJAL SEEDS

ANANT KUMAR HEGDE

(a) whether the Government has taken any steps to ban the sale of Bt. Brinjal seeds available in the country in the wake of the ban on its commercial production in the country;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether the Government has ascertained the available quantity of Bt. Brinjal seeds;

(d) if so, the details thereof; and

(e) the names of the companies having such seeds in their possession alongwith the quantities available with them company-wise?

Will the Minister of AGRICULTUREbe pleased to state:-

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

(PROF. K.V. THOMAS)

(a) & (b): The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee(GEAC) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests in its 99th meeting held on 17.02.2010 has decided that the seed stock of Bt. Brinjal available with the developers should be deposited with the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) of Indian Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR) to prevent any potential leakage and contamination during moratorium.

(c) to (e): GEAC gave approval for limited seed production in an area of 0.5 acre per hybrid in June, 2008. A total of seven hybrids were approved for large scale trials under the supervision of Director, Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, ICAR, Varanasi. GEAC granted permission to M/s. Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company Ltd.(Mahyco), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University(TNAU), Coimbatore and University of Agricultural Sciences(UAS), Dharwad to produce Bt. Brinjal seed and the quantity of seed reported by them is as under:

S.No.

Name of the Agency Quantity(in Kgs.)

1. Mahyco 648.63

2. TNAU, Coimbatore 0.10

3. UAS, Dharwad 0.417