{"id":70150,"date":"2026-03-26T18:20:57","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T12:50:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=70150"},"modified":"2026-03-26T18:22:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T12:52:03","slug":"hybrid-gmo-wheat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/26-03-2026\/hybrid-gmo-wheat","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Researchers bet on Hybrid, GMO to make Wheat Profitable"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Biotechnology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Hybrid wheat<\/strong> is finally becoming <strong>more widely available<\/strong>, and <strong>genetically modified varieties <\/strong>may launch in the U.S. within a few years.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What are GM crops?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Crops that have undergone <strong>genetic engineering processes<\/strong> to alter their DNA are referred to as genetically modified crops.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This alteration is done<strong> to introduce desirable traits<\/strong> such as resistance to pests or herbicides, improved nutritional content, or increased yield.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The process of creating GM crops typically involves:<\/strong> identification of desired traits, isolation of genes, insertion into crop genome, and expression of the trait.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The techniques used in GM crops are:<\/strong> gene guns, electroporation, microinjection, agrobacterium etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The types of modification are: <\/strong>transgenic, cis-genic, subgenic and multiple trait integration.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The main trait types<\/strong> in GM crops are herbicide tolerance (HT), insect resistance (IR), Stacked traits etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Indian Scenario in GM crops<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Bt Cotton:<\/strong> In 2002, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) had allowed the commercial release of Bt cotton.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Bt cotton has two alien genes from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) that allows the crop to develop a protein toxic to the common pest <strong>pink bollworm.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Till now, it is the only GM crop that is allowed in India.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Many varieties of GM crops are under different stages of development, like <strong>Bt brinjal <\/strong>and<strong> DMH-11 mustard.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Regulatory framework in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC): <\/strong>It under the <strong>Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&amp;CC), <\/strong>is responsible for the assessment of proposals related to the commercial release of GM crops.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Acts and rules<\/strong> that regulate GM crops in India are:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Environment Protection Act, 1986 (EPA),<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Biological Diversity Act, 2002,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Plant Quarantine Order, 2003,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>GM policy under Foreign Trade Policy,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Drugs and Cosmetics Rule (8th Amendment), 1988.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concerns<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Use of Glyphosate:<\/strong> Field trials involve GM maize engineered to tolerate glyphosate, a herbicide banned in Punjab.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Activists cite studies linking glyphosate to carcinogenic effects, such as <strong>non-Hodgkin lymphoma<\/strong>, and soil ecosystem disruption.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Biodiversity Risks:<\/strong> GM crops can affect non-target organisms, promote monocultures, and cause gene flow to native crop varieties, threatening biodiversity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Public Health concerns:<\/strong> Antibiotic resistance markers in GM crops may reduce the efficacy of real antibiotics in humans, raising the risk of antibiotic-resistant <strong>superbugs.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Legal Inconsistencies:<\/strong> The lack of transparency in issuing <strong>No Objection Certificates (NOCs)<\/strong> for field trials has been questioned by civil society groups like the Coalition for a GM-Free India.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>They argue that public consultation, independent review, and parliamentary oversight are missing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Strengthen Scientific Transparency:<\/strong> Ensure independent, peer-reviewed assessments of GM crop safety and efficacy. Publish trial data in the public domain to build trust and credibility.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Promote Public Engagement: <\/strong>Conduct open consultations with farmers, scientists, and civil society to address concerns.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Protect native crop<\/strong> varieties through buffer zones and containment strategies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Empower biosafety and ethics committees<\/strong> with greater independence and accountability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/epaper.thehindu.com\/ccidist-ws\/th\/th_international\/issues\/177369\/OPS\/G7MFNU59F.1+GG1FOU5R7.1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Hybrid wheat is finally becoming more widely available, and genetically modified varieties may launch in the U.S. within a few years.\u00a0 <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> What are GM crops? <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Crops that have undergone genetic engineering processes to alter their DNA are referred to as genetically modified crops. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> This alteration is done to introduce desirable traits such as resistance to pests or herbicides, improved nutritional content, or increased yield. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The process of creating GM crops typically involves: identification of desired traits, isolation of genes, insertion into crop genome, and expression of the trait. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/26-03-2026\/hybrid-gmo-wheat \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70150"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70154,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70150\/revisions\/70154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}