GS-III: Economy, Environment, S&T
Crop improvement by breeding, biofortification and transgenics
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Genetic enhancement of crop plants spans conventional hybridisation, marker-assisted selection, biofortification for iron-, zinc- and protein-dense varieties in ICAR's varietal pipeline, transgenic modification, and genome editing. Regulation runs through the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (1989 rules): Bt cotton was cleared for commercial cultivation in 2002, Bt brinjal placed under moratorium in 2010, and SDN-1 and SDN-2 genome-edited plants exempted from those rules in 2022. Raising nutrient density in a staple through breeding bypasses the population-coverage and compliance limits that supplementation programmes face.