New Delhi, Aug 17, 2010: The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) has given the go ahead to the trials of 3 moregenetically modified (GM) crops. The committee which met on July 30, 2010 at Hyderabad, India, considered requests from three companies namely Syngenta Biosciences Ltd., JK Agri Genetics Ltd. and Dow Agrosciences India Pvt. Ltd., and permitted them to carry out the field trials of some specific GM crops.

Considering the recommendations of the review committee on genetic manipulation (RCGM), GEAC gave permission to Syngenta Biosciences Ltd to conduct Biosafety Research Level-I (BRL-I) trials on transgenic corn hybrids namely NK-6240 containing cry1Ab genes (event Bt11). The trials will be conducted at one location each within the institutional research farm of Maharanapratap University of  Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur, and Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, during Kharif 2010. 

The Committee also approved the request from JK Agri Genetics  to conduct second year BRL-1 trials on two transgenic cotton (HXH) hybrids like JKCH-1947 Bt EGII & JKCH-1050 Bt EGII containing cry1Ac (Event-1) and cry1EC (Event-24) at two locations in the north zone during Kharif 2011 at Bhatinda, Punjab and Sriganganagar, Rajasthan, as per the SOPs guidelines. Earlier RCGM had recommended the same.

The third company to be given permission is Dow Agrosciences India Pvt. Ltd, which has been allowed to conduct BRL-II with WideStrikeTM cotton hybrids namely WS103 & WS106 containing cry1F (Event 281-24-236) + cry1Ac (Event 3006-210-23) in the south zone. The trials will be conducted at Hyderabad, Guntur and Jaggayapetta in Andhra Pradesh; Dharwad and Haveri in Karnataka; Coimbatore, Salem and Attur in Tami Nadu. The permission was given after the recommendations of RCGM and when the company submitted the documents  related to the Food, Feed Biosafety studies, Environmental Biosafety, Biosafety Research Trials and Associated studies to GEAC.