India's President Calls for Technology-Led Agricultural Development

India's President Pranab Mukherjee said the introduction of genetically-modified (GM) crops had the potential to revolutionize the agriculture sector, while asking the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to bring clarity on safety concerns of these crops.

"The development and introduction of GM crops has the potential to revolutionize agriculture. The concerns over their perceived risks should be addressed by following internationally accepted procedures for assessing safety parameters," Mr. Mukherjee said at the 85th ICAR foundation day. "ICAR, which is involved in developing useful products and technologies in this field, must contribute to the public discourse and provide clarity on this sensitive issue," the President added. He also suggested that safety concerns attached to GM crops should be addressed by following global norms.

Stating that agriculture retained primary importance in terms of value creation and employment generation in our economy, President Mukherjee called upon the scientific fraternity to work towards a technology-led path for development of agriculture and prosperity of the farming community. "The quality and relevance of agricultural research must be enhanced to bring within its domain cutting edge technologies like biosensors, genomics, biotechnology, nanotechnology and alternative energy sources," Mukherjee added.

For more details visit http://www.icar.org.in/node/6200 and http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=97245