The benefits accruing from research in genomics, transgenic biotechnology, radiation and molecular biology are immense. Deployment of biotechnology can help in enhancing agricultural productivity, ensuring food and nutritional security and producing life saving drugs. Budgetary support to public sector research institutes, therefore, needs to be stepped up so that these institutes can come up with quality products at cheaper rates.

India with its skilled scientific manpower and richness in mega biodiversity can be a leader in this field. Indian scientists can then have a competitive advantage in `functional genomics' compared with `structural genomics'These were the views expressed by scientists who participated in the 88th Indian Science Congress held in the Capital recently.

Anand Mohan Chakraborty of the University of Illinois, US, cautioned that there was likelihood of scientists in India being unnecessarily hauled up in courts for conducting genomic tests. In the US there have been several instances of scientists being sued on the issue of the propriety of human genes being tested and the royalty to be shared. He said India should amend laws in this connection to ensure that scientists can work in a hassle-free atmosphere.

Franklin M Zweig of the Einstein Institute for Science Health & The Courts, Chevy Chase, US, suggested the need for educating the judiciary trying cases related to the consumption of genetically modified (GM) foods.

S Shantharam of the International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, said there was need to build up public confidence for acceptance of GM foods and seeds. He said application of biosafety measures through a regulatory process was required. This process should involve all stakeholders and the analysis and approvals should be made transparent, he added.

A regulatory process should be put in place by the government. The government should, in the interests of the farmers and the common man, negotiate to get the `right to use' against a negotiated sum from companies producing biotech products just as Monsanto procured rights for Golden Rice from Zeneca and announced unconditional royalty-free licenses for `humanitarian research'. Such measures will help availability of biotech products at affordable rates, he added.

Krishna R Dronamraju of the Foundation for Genetic Research, Texas, US, said although there was no evidence of health hazards posed by GM foods so far, the bigger concern was getting through the regulatory process. He, therefore, suggested the need for approvals from biotech boards at the panchayat, district and state levels.

Gurudev S Khush of the International Rice Research Institute, Manila, said the genetic yield potential of rice was about 10 tonnes per hectare in the tropics. However, farmers obtained only about five tonnes per hectare on an average. This yield gap was due to diseases, pests and use of sub-optimum management practices. He said this gap could be closed through developing varieties resistant to pests and diseases through transgenic biotechnology.

Dr Khush said biotech approaches for increasing crop yield potential were also being investigated. Plant breeders have been selecting the `stay green' trait for grain. In genotypes with slower senescence (stay green), the rubisco degradation is slower. This results in longer duration photosynthesis and higher yields.

VL Chopra, president, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said the decision to accept or reject transgenics would depend on the perception of the resulting cost-benefit equation. Biosafety and environmental issues accompanying their commercialisation have been projected as grave concerns.

However, no evidence of harm has been established from thousands of field trials in a number of countries. He said it was important that quick and firm decisions were taken on the acceptability of transgenics because delays in decision-making could arouse suspicions in the public mind.

Dr Chopra said genomics would be the basis for biotechnology of the future and the question of taking the right decision in this regard was critical.

He said Indian scientists were strong in the field of traditional plant mutagenesis. They should now take up functional genomics and assign functions to the stretches of DNA sequence and apply novel approaches like transposon mutagenesis and T-DNA mutagenesis.

J Chakraborty of the Central Food Laboratory, Kolkata, said safety measures were necessary to build public confidence. He outlined some measures like detecting the toxic effects as well as wholesomeness of GM foods, compulsory labelling and transparency and information empowerment. There should also be an ethical code for experiments and field-tests of GM crops, national and international bio-safety protocols and assessment of environmental and social impact of biotechnology introduction.

Regarding labelling of GM foods, he said that national governments and Codex Alimentarius Commission of FAO should evolve a regulatory mechanism. The producer should define and declare the exact modification, proper evidence of safety tests and other relevant information like storage, transport and processing technology. If necessary, the label should indicate the nutritive value of the product.

Anil Kakodkar, chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, said application of nuclear technologies in agriculture had lead to the development of a number of new varieties of crops, such as blackgram and groundnut. The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), using induced mutations and cross-breeding, had developed 22 crop varieties for commercial cultivation.

HS Vageeshbabu of the National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology, said rational engineering and genetic transformation of the desturase was underway for the the production of a designer brassica (mustard seed). The investigation is a synthesis of biochemistry, biophysics, bioinformatics and plant molecular genetics with the sole mandate of developing designer value-added brassica (mustard seed) that produces fatty acid phenotypes.