LONDON, ENGLAND, June 26, 2004: India intends to use Genetically Modified (GM) crops to usher in a new Green Revolution in the country, Kapil Sibal, Science and Technology Minister said today. “We favour GM crops. This is our Government’s policy and we will encourage GM,” Sibal said in an interview to BBC Hindi today. “Our Bio-Technology department is carrying out large-scale research in this regard and we want the foreign venture capitalists to join us and invest in this field. The research is so extensive that I am sure we will bring a new Green Revolution in India,” he said. The minister said his ministry would take into confidence other concerned departments on the issue. “This includes my ministry (Science and Technology), Agriculture ministry and the Environment ministry. We will sit together, form an inter-ministerial group and then take a decision. We will present GM seeds to our farmers only after all these concerned departments approve the new technology.” Asked how the Government would handle the network a few multinational companies had built regarding GM seeds, Sibal said: “Let the network be there. We will not buy seeds from them. We will develop our own technology and after approval Indian companies will be able to produce those GM seeds.” On the issue of patent, Sibal said, “The problem is, this process takes a long time because there is not enough human resource. We will hire more people and try and give more patents. There will be trade facilitation so that anybody from inside or outside the country can come and apply for it.”
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