Science & Technology
Biotechnology
Agricultural Biotechnology: GM Crops, Genome-Edited Rice and Beyond
Bt cotton, Bt brinjal, GM mustard DMH-11, India's genome-edited rice, tissue culture, biofertilizers and Chhattisgarh's rice research, for CGPSC.
Prerequisites
- Genetic Engineering: Tools and Recombinant DNA Technology — vectors (especially the Ti plasmid) and the rDNA steps.
- Genome Editing, Gene Therapy, Cloning and Genomics — CRISPR and the SDN-1/2/3 categories.
- Agriculture and Irrigation in Chhattisgarh — the state’s rice-centred farm economy.
The Hook: The Rice Bowl and the Gene Bank
Connect
Chhattisgarh is called the “Rice Bowl” (धान का कटोरा) of central India. At Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya (IGKV), Raipur, more than 23,500 rice germplasm lines — traditional varieties such as Dubraj, Jawaphool and Safri among them — are conserved. These are a genetic treasure chest of aroma, drought tolerance and pest resistance.
In May 2025, India became the first country to release genome-edited rice varieties. In the same years, GM mustard was stuck in the Supreme Court, and Bt cotton — India’s only commercial GM crop — was fighting a resistant pink bollworm. Why is one technology celebrated and another resisted? What exactly is the difference between a GM crop, a genome-edited crop, a mutant and a biofortified variety? This page answers those questions.
Why it matters: Prelims asks “which is the only GM crop approved for commercial cultivation in India”, “who approves GM crops”, “Bt toxin comes from”. Mains P-IV asks you to weigh GM crops for food security against biosafety, often with a farmer and state angle.
How a Crop Is Genetically Modified
- Identify a useful gene (for example a toxin gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis).
- Insert it into plant cells, usually with the Ti plasmid of Agrobacterium tumefaciens (a natural “genetic engineer” of plants) or with a gene gun.
- Regenerate whole plants from the transformed cells by tissue culture.
- Test in contained conditions, then in confined field trials, then seek regulatory approval.
Bt crops and the Bt toxin
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| Source | Soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (“Bt”) |
| Toxin | Cry proteins (crystal proteins), coded by cry genes. The bacterium makes them as an inactive protoxin |
| Why it kills insects but not humans | In the insect gut’s alkaline pH the protoxin is solubilised and activated; it binds to the gut lining and makes pores, so the insect dies. Mammals have an acidic stomach and lack the specific receptors |
| Targets | cryIAc and cryIIAb genes control cotton bollworms; cryIAb controls the corn borer (NCERT examples) |
GM Crops in India: The Record
| Crop | Status | Key facts |
|---|---|---|
| Bt cotton | Approved, 2002 — India’s only GM crop approved for commercial cultivation (as of 2026) | First approved by GEAC in March 2002 (Bollgard, Mahyco–Monsanto). Bollgard II (two genes) followed in 2006. It now covers well over 90% of India’s cotton area. Pink bollworm has developed resistance; unapproved herbicide-tolerant (HTBt) cotton is grown illegally in some states |
| Bt brinjal | Moratorium since February 2010 | Cleared by GEAC in October 2009; the then Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh imposed an indefinite moratorium after public consultations. Bangladesh commercialised Bt brinjal in 2013–14 |
| GM mustard (DMH-11) | Environmental release approved October 2022; under judicial challenge | Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11, developed by Deepak Pental’s team at the University of Delhi South Campus (CGMCP), using the barnase–barstar system to make hybrid seed production easier; it also carries the bar gene (herbicide tolerance). In July 2024 a two-judge Supreme Court bench gave a split verdict (Justice B.V. Nagarathna quashed the approval; Justice Sanjay Karol upheld it) and both judges directed the Centre to frame a national policy on GM crops. The matter was referred to a larger bench |
| GM food imports | Restricted | Import of oil from GM soybean has been permitted; GM foods need FSSAI approval under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 |
Golden Rice — the global example
Golden Rice is engineered to produce beta-carotene (provitamin A) in the grain, to fight vitamin A deficiency. The Philippines approved it for commercial propagation in 2021, but in April 2024 a Philippine Court of Appeals halted commercial propagation of Golden Rice and Bt eggplant on biosafety grounds. India has not approved it.
Genome-Edited Rice: India’s 2025 First
On 4 May 2025, the Union Agriculture Minister released two genome-edited rice varieties developed by ICAR institutes using CRISPR-Cas — described as the first such rice varieties released in the world.
| Variety | Developed by | Parent | Trait |
|---|---|---|---|
| DRR Dhan 100 (Kamala) | ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR), Hyderabad | Samba Mahsuri | Edited CKX2 (cytokinin oxidase 2) gene; more grains per panicle; reported about 25% higher yield and maturity about 15–20 days earlier |
| Pusa DST Rice 1 | ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi | MTU 1010 | Tolerance to salinity and alkalinity; reported yield gains (up to about 30%) under saline and alkaline soils |
Why these are not 'GM crops' in law
They were made with SDN-1/SDN-2 editing and contain no foreign DNA. Under the MoEFCC office memorandum of 30 March 2022, such plants are exempt from Rules 7–11 of the Rules of 1989 (the GM approval process), once the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBSC) confirms the absence of foreign DNA. DBT’s Standard Operating Procedures for genome-edited plants were notified in October 2022. So they went through the normal ICAR variety-release system, not GEAC.
The Wider Toolkit of Agricultural Biotechnology
| Technique | What it is | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Plant tissue culture / micropropagation | Growing whole plants from small pieces (explants) on a nutrient medium; possible because plant cells are totipotent | Mass production of banana, sugarcane, potato and orchid plantlets; meristem culture gives virus-free plants because the apical meristem is usually free of virus |
| Somatic hybridisation | Fusing protoplasts (cells without walls) of two plants | Pomato (potato + tomato) — a classic example, not a commercial success |
| Marker-assisted selection (MAS) | Using DNA markers to track a useful gene during conventional breeding — no foreign DNA | Swarna-Sub1 (flood-tolerant rice); Improved Samba Mahsuri (bacterial blight resistance, ICAR-IIRR with CSIR-CCMB) |
| RNA interference (RNAi) | Silencing a specific gene with double-stranded RNA | NCERT example: tobacco protected from the nematode Meloidogyne incognita |
| Mutation breeding | Inducing random mutations with radiation or chemicals, then selecting useful ones — not genetic engineering | BARC–IGKV programme in Chhattisgarh producing shorter, earlier-maturing mutants of traditional rice such as Dubraj (e.g. Trombay Chhattisgarh Dubraj Mutant lines) |
| Biofortification | Breeding staple crops for higher nutrient content in the grain | Zinc- and iron-rich rice, wheat and pearl millet; IGKV Raipur has bred zinc-biofortified rice |
| Biofertilizers (जैव उर्वरक) | Living microbes that add or mobilise nutrients | Rhizobium (legume root nodules), Azotobacter and Azospirillum (free-living N-fixers), blue-green algae / cyanobacteria (Anabaena, Nostoc) in paddy, mycorrhiza (Glomus) for phosphorus |
| Biopesticides (जैव कीटनाशक) | Living organisms or their products that control pests | Bt sprays, Trichoderma (fungal root diseases), nucleopolyhedroviruses (NPV) — baculoviruses for insect pests; neem-based products |
Chhattisgarh angle for Mains
- IGKV Raipur (est. 1987) conserves over 23,500 rice germplasm lines and works with BARC on radiation-induced mutants of aromatic traditional varieties like Dubraj and Jawaphool — improving yield and plant height while keeping quality.
- Chhattisgarh distributes fortified rice through the public distribution system. Fortification (blending vitamin-mineral kernels after milling) is not biotechnology — a useful “don’t confuse”.
- The state’s push for organic and natural farming and tribal forest produce makes biofertilizers, biopesticides and tissue-culture planting material (for example of bamboo and medicinal plants) the most relevant agri-biotech tools, alongside genome-edited and stress-tolerant rice.
Analysis for Mains: The GM Crop Debate
| Arguments for | Arguments against |
|---|---|
| Higher yields and lower losses for food security with limited land | Biosafety: gene flow to wild relatives, effects on non-target insects and soil |
| Less insecticide use (Bt cotton’s early years) | Resistance: pink bollworm resistance to Bt cotton within about a decade |
| Stress tolerance (drought, salinity, floods) under climate change | Herbicide-tolerant crops may encourage weedicide overuse and hit farm labour |
| Nutritional gains (Golden Rice, biofortification) | Seed monopoly and costs: patents, trait fees, farmer dependence on companies |
| Reduces edible-oil import dependence (GM mustard argument) | Regulatory trust deficit: limited independent data; SC split verdict (2024) |
| Genome editing gives precision without foreign DNA | Consumer acceptance, export markets, and India’s centres of crop diversity (e.g. brinjal) |
Balanced conclusion for an answer: India’s position has moved towards case-by-case approval with strong biosafety, a lighter path for genome-edited crops without foreign DNA, and continued public investment (ICAR) so that farmers are not dependent on a few companies.
Memory Tricks
India's GM crop status: 'Cotton Yes, Brinjal No, Mustard Pending'
- Cotton — 2002, approved (the only one)
- Brinjal — 2010, moratorium
- Mustard — 2022 approval, 2024 split verdict → pending
“Can Be Maybe” = Cotton (can), Brinjal (be stopped), Mustard (maybe).
Biofertilizers: 'RAAB-M'
Rhizobium (legumes) · Azotobacter · Azospirillum · Blue-green algae (paddy) · Mycorrhiza (phosphorus).
Don’t Confuse
| This | vs | That |
|---|---|---|
| GM / transgenic crop — foreign gene inserted (Bt cotton) | vs | Genome-edited (SDN-1/2) — small precise change, no foreign DNA (DRR Dhan 100 Kamala) |
| Mutation breeding — random mutations by radiation (BARC–IGKV Dubraj mutants) | vs | Genome editing — targeted change at a chosen gene |
| Biofortification — nutrient bred into the grain | vs | Fortification — nutrients added after harvest (fortified rice in PDS) |
| Marker-assisted selection — conventional breeding guided by DNA markers | vs | Genetic engineering — direct transfer or editing of genes |
| GEAC (MoEFCC) — approves environmental release of GMOs | vs | RCGM (DBT) — reviews research and confined trials |
| Bacillus thuringiensis — Bt toxin gene | vs | Agrobacterium tumefaciens — Ti plasmid vector |
Common Mistakes
MCQ traps
- “Bt brinjal is commercially grown in India.” False. It has been under moratorium since 2010; it is grown in Bangladesh.
- “GM mustard is approved for commercial cultivation.” Not settled. GEAC approved environmental release in 2022, but the Supreme Court gave a split verdict in 2024 and the matter is pending.
- “India’s 2025 genome-edited rice varieties are GM crops approved by GEAC.” False. They carry no foreign DNA and are exempt from GM rules; they were released through ICAR.
- “Bt toxin is active as soon as it is made in the plant.” False. It is a protoxin activated in the alkaline gut of the insect.
- “Fortified rice is genetically modified.” False. Fortification is a food-processing step, not genetic engineering.
Practice
All questions below are original practice questions written in CGPSC style. They are not previous-year questions.
Level 1: Foundation
- The only GM crop approved for commercial cultivation in India (as of 2026) is ______.
- The Bt toxin gene comes from the bacterium ______.
- DRR Dhan 100 (Kamala) was developed from the popular variety ______.
Answers
- Bt cotton (approved 2002).
- Bacillus thuringiensis.
- Samba Mahsuri.
Level 2: Prelims MCQs
Q1. Consider the following statements regarding biotechnology in Indian agriculture:
- The genome-edited rice varieties released in May 2025 contain genes taken from bacteria.
- Bt brinjal has been under a moratorium for commercial release in India since 2010.
- In July 2024, the Supreme Court gave a split verdict on the approval of GM mustard DMH-11.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer and explanation
(b) 2 and 3 only. Statement 1 is wrong: the two varieties were made by SDN-1/SDN-2 genome editing without any foreign DNA. Bt brinjal has been under moratorium since February 2010, and the July 2024 Supreme Court verdict on DMH-11 was split between Justices Nagarathna and Karol.
Q2. Match List I (Organism) with List II (Use in agricultural biotechnology):
| List I | List II |
|---|---|
| A. Agrobacterium tumefaciens | 1. Nitrogen fixation in legume root nodules |
| B. Bacillus thuringiensis | 2. Biocontrol of fungal root diseases |
| C. Rhizobium | 3. Natural vector for transferring genes into plants |
| D. Trichoderma | 4. Source of insecticidal Cry protein genes |
- (a) A-3, B-4, C-2, D-1
- (b) A-4, B-3, C-1, D-2
- (c) A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2
- (d) A-3, B-4, C-1, D-2
Answer and explanation
(d) A-3, B-4, C-1, D-2. Agrobacterium transfers its Ti plasmid DNA into plants; Bt supplies the cry genes; Rhizobium fixes nitrogen in legume nodules; Trichoderma is a fungal biocontrol agent.
Q3. Which body approves the environmental release of genetically engineered organisms in India?
- (a) Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM) under DBT
- (b) Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) under MoEFCC
- (c) Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)
- (d) Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)
Answer and explanation
(b) GEAC, under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, constituted under the Rules of 1989 (Environment (Protection) Act, 1986). RCGM reviews research and confined trials; ICAR releases conventional and genome-edited varieties; FSSAI regulates GM food.
Q4. Virus-free plants are commonly obtained through tissue culture of the:
- (a) Root cap
- (b) Apical meristem
- (c) Mature leaf
- (d) Seed coat
Answer and explanation
(b) Apical meristem. Even in an infected plant the meristem is usually free of virus, so plants regenerated from it by meristem culture are healthy.
Q5. The Bt toxin kills the cotton bollworm but not humans mainly because:
- (a) Humans digest Bt cotton fibre completely
- (b) The toxin is activated only in the alkaline gut of the insect and binds to specific gut receptors
- (c) Bt cotton produces the toxin only in its roots
- (d) Cooking destroys the Bt gene
Answer and explanation
(b). The Cry protein is an inactive protoxin; the alkaline pH of the insect midgut activates it and it binds receptors on the gut lining. Humans have an acidic stomach and lack these receptors.
Level 3: Mains Answer Writing
Q1. (60 words) Distinguish between genetically modified crops and genome-edited crops, with one Indian example of each.
Model answer outline
- GM crop: a foreign gene from another species is inserted; regulated by GEAC — e.g. Bt cotton (cry gene from Bacillus thuringiensis, approved 2002).
- Genome-edited (SDN-1/2): precise change in the plant’s own gene, no foreign DNA; exempt from GM rules since 2022 — e.g. DRR Dhan 100 (Kamala), 2025.
Q2. (150–200 words) “Biotechnology can make Chhattisgarh’s rice economy climate-resilient.” Examine, with reference to recent developments.
Model answer outline
- Intro: Chhattisgarh’s mostly rain-fed rice farming faces erratic monsoon, drought spells and pests.
- Tools available:
- Genome-edited varieties (2025): early-maturing, high-yield DRR Dhan 100 Kamala; salt- and alkali-tolerant Pusa DST Rice 1 — no foreign DNA, quicker approval.
- Marker-assisted breeding: flood tolerance (Sub1), disease resistance.
- IGKV Raipur’s germplasm (over 23,500 lines) and BARC–IGKV mutants of Dubraj and Jawaphool — keeping traditional aroma with better yield.
- Biofertilizers (BGA, Azospirillum) and biopesticides suited to organic farming in tribal districts.
- Concerns: small farmers’ access to seed; protecting traditional landraces and farmers’ rights (PPV&FR Act, 2001); biosafety and trust.
- Conclusion: public-sector biotechnology combined with the state’s genetic wealth can build climate resilience without corporate dependence.
Quick Revision Table
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Bt cotton | Only commercial GM crop in India (as of 2026); approved March 2002 |
| Bt toxin | Cry protein; Bacillus thuringiensis; protoxin activated in alkaline insect gut |
| Bt brinjal | GEAC clearance 2009; moratorium Feb 2010 (Jairam Ramesh); grown in Bangladesh |
| GM mustard DMH-11 | Delhi University (Deepak Pental); GEAC Oct 2022; SC split verdict July 2024 |
| Genome-edited rice | 4 May 2025; DRR Dhan 100 Kamala (IIRR, from Samba Mahsuri); Pusa DST Rice 1 (IARI, salinity) |
| SDN-1/2 exemption | MoEFCC OM, 30 March 2022; SOPs October 2022 |
| Plant vector | Ti plasmid of Agrobacterium tumefaciens |
| RNAi example | Tobacco vs Meloidogyne incognita |
| Golden Rice | Beta-carotene; Philippines approved 2021, halted by court April 2024 |
| Virus-free plants | Meristem culture |
| Biofertilizers | Rhizobium, Azotobacter, Azospirillum, BGA, mycorrhiza |
| IGKV Raipur | Over 23,500 rice germplasm lines; BARC mutants of Dubraj |
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
- India has one commercial GM crop — Bt cotton (2002); Bt brinjal is under moratorium and GM mustard is before the Supreme Court.
- Genome-edited crops without foreign DNA (SDN-1/2) follow a lighter route; India released the first two genome-edited rice varieties in May 2025.
- Agri-biotech is broader than GM: tissue culture, marker-assisted selection, biofertilizers and biopesticides matter most to small farmers.
- Keep the categories apart: GM, genome-edited, mutant, biofortified, fortified.
- The Mains debate is about biosafety, farmer control over seed and regulatory trust, not just yield.
What’s Next
- Medical Biotechnology — the health applications of the same tools
- Regulation, Policy and Ethics — GEAC, the Rules of 1989, Cartagena Protocol and biopiracy
- Agricultural Science — crops, soils and farm technology in general
- Agriculture (India Geography) — cropping patterns and the Green Revolution
Advertisement