IT WAS in 2003 that a task force set up by the agriculture ministry and headed by M S Swaminathan floated the idea of an independent authority for biotechnology regulation called the National Biotechnology Regulatory Authority (NBRA). The idea was mooted following the introduction of Bt cotton in the country.
Five years later, the Ministry of Science and Technology drafted the NBRA Bill. But it was soon withdrawn following severe criticism during public consultation. In 2009, the ministry drafted another version of the Bill, this time titled Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill. Contents of the draft were kept under wraps.
In February 2010, the science ministry suffered a setback when the environment minister imposed a moratorium on Bt Brinjal and other GM crops in the country. This started a silent war within the government. There was discomfort in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) too.
