India Develops Genome-Edited Rice to Fight Climate Change Amid Safety Concerns

Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on April 4 launched the first genome-edited rice varieties 'DRR Dhan 100 (Kamala) and Pusa DST Rice 1' developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The genome-edited rice varieties have been developed to address challenges of climate change and boost rice yields by up to 30%.

"It is an important day for us. Soon, these two new rice varieties will be made available to farmers," said Chouhan, adding that the new varieties will enhance rice yields by 20-30%, conserve water, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from rice cultivation.

These varieties are recommended for major rice-growing states, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal.

Benefits of Genome Editing

Scientists developed these varieties by enhancing two widely grown rice types --” Samba Mahsuri (BPT5204) and MTU1010 (Cottondora Sannalu) --” with improved stress tolerance, yield, and climate adaptability, while retaining their original strengths.

Both varieties exhibit superior drought tolerance and high nitrogen-use efficiency.

The minister said DRR Dhan 100 (Kamala) matures about 20 days earlier (130 days) than its parent, enabling earlier harvests and potential for crop rotation or multiple cropping cycles. The shorter duration of DRR Dhan 100 (Kamala) allows farmers to save three irrigations.

GM-Free Coalition Criticises Launch

However, on May 5, the Coalition for a GM-Free India criticised the government for releasing two genome-edited rice varieties, alleging that the move was on account of pressure from corporate lobbies

"It is shocking that the Government of India is doing unlawful things under pressure from corporate lobbies. There is an enormous body of scientific literature pointing to the lack of safety of gene editing techniques," the Coalition said in a statement.

The group raised concerns that these gene-edited rice varieties could jeopardise India's diverse rice gene pool, arguing that gene editing falls under India’s statutory definition of genetic modification.

The Coalition also objected to the deregulation of SDN-1 and SDN-2 gene editing techniques, claiming that these varieties were released "without any safety testing" under the "smokescreen of higher yield/drought resistance".

"A lot of studies show that a lot of traditional seed varieties are nutritionally superior, stress-tolerant, and therefore, resilient. They are open-source and don’t have Intellectual Property issues. They are the solution, therefore not GM crops,” Kuruganti, a representative of the Coalition for a GM-Free India told India Today, mentioning the role of traditional seed varieties over GM seeds.

(With inputs from PTI.)