India's Seed Industry Seeks Faster Science-Based Approvals

India’s private seed companies want new crop technologies to be approved more quickly.

They say one clear set of rules would make the process easier.

They believe improved seeds could help farmers grow more cotton, oilseeds, and pulses.

These crops face problems from changing climate conditions, and India imports large amounts of them.

The industry says rules are still needed to ensure safety.

However, it also says farmers should be able to use approved new technologies.

It supports using both genome editing and genetically modified crops.

India has had no new commercially approved GM cotton varieties since two varieties were introduced.

Some genome-edited crops are treated differently from GM crops under rules issued in 2022.