1.GEAC member quits over conflict of interest
2.Pawar identified as corrupt minister
3.Pawar must quit as agriculture minister too: Hazare
4.Pawar: States must be consulted on GM food crops

NOTE: India's Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar is a highly aggressive supporter of GM crops, which makes item 4 surprising.
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1.GEAC member quits over conflict of interest
Sanjeeb Mukherjee & Sreelatha Menon
Business Standard, April 5 2011
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/geac-member-quits-over-conflictinterest/430996/

Ahead of the first meeting of an expert committee of scientists to determine the kind of tests to be conducted on genetically-modified brinjal, commonly known as Bt brinjal, a prominent member of the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) has resigned from the panel.

The resignation of P Anand Kumar comes following an appeal by the co-chair of the panel at its last meeting to members to quit if they had a conflict of interest. Kumar, who was a member of GEAC under his capacity as head of the National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology (NRCPB) under the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), resigned last week.

When contacted, Kumar said he was no longer part of GEAC, but declined to say more. People close to Kumar said he was dissatisfied with the repeated political interference in GEAC and neglect of science in it. However, according to the Supreme Court appointee in GEAC, Pushpa Bhargava, it was agreed in GEAC in a recent meeting that members would sign a form saying they had no conflict of interest. The other pledge they were to take was an oath of silence on proceedings till it was put in the public domain.

Kumar had been facing criticism all of last year for allegedly being the author of a report prepared by six science academies, which had favoured the immediate release of Bt brinjal.

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh had commissioned the report but later rejected it last year, saying it said nothing new that he did not know. The report was revised and sent to the ministry, and according to Bhargava, it was as bad as the first.

More resignations are expected, as all those members who are associated with institutions that develop GM crops, supposedly have the same stand as that of Kumar.

B M Khadi, principal scientist in University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad; V S Chauhan, scientist in the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology; K K Tripathi, advisor Department of Biotechnology, fall in this grey area if this criterion is applied.

“All those who work to develop GM crops would fall in that bracket. For how can those who develop GM crops be part of a regulatory body on it? How can you regulate yourself?” asks Bhaskar Goswami, trade and policy analyst in Forum for Biotech and Food Safety. Meanwhile, the first meeting of an expert panel of scientists to determine the tests ato be conducted on Bt brinjal is expected to be held later this month. The meeting will be the first such exercise after a moratorium was put on commercial introduction of this variety of brinjal last year.

Eminent agricultural scientist M S Swaminathan, along with P M Bhargava, G Padmanabhan and M Vijayan, are among the scientists in the expert panel.
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2.Indian minister quits key panel as activist's fast gathers support
DPA, April 7 2011 [extract only]
http://bit.ly/e6sU26

New Delhi - An Indian minister resigned from a key panel on corruption as a social activist's hunger strike seeking tougher graft laws gained momentum with thousands pledging support for his campaign, news reports said Thursday.

Federal Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar resigned from the panel Wednesday after being held up as an example of a 'corrupt' minister by activist Anna Hazare, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported.
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3.Pawar must quit as agriculture minister too: Hazare
http://www.indiablooms.com/VideoDetails/videoDetails070411m.php

New Delhi, April 7 (ANI): Social activist Anna Hazare, who is on an indefinite hunger strike to press his demand of formulation of Jan Lokpal Bill, said that resignation of central Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar from the Group of Ministers (GoM) would not curb corruption in the country. Hazare on Wednesday asserted that Pawar should quit as Agriculture Minister too.
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4.Pawar: States must be consulted on GM food crops
Gargi Parsai
The Hindu, April 7 2011
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article1606095.ece

Union Agriculture and Food Processing Minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said the Centre must consult States on genetically modified (GM) food crops.

"We will have to talk to Chief Ministers and discuss all major issues with them," he said when asked about Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's ban last month on trials of GM maize in the State following approval by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC). Mr. Pawar was speaking to journalists here after inaugurating the National Conference on Kharif Campaign.

On Mr. Kumar's assertion that the assent of a State government must be taken before trials of genetically engineered crops were conducted on its soil, Mr. Pawar said: “What the Chief Minister is saying is correct. Under the rules, a [seeds] company that conducts trials of genetically engineered crops is supposed to inform the State government. ”

Last month, Mr. Kumar had taken umbrage to multi-centric trials in Bihar permitted by the GEAC and shot off a letter to Union Minister Jairam Ramesh. Mr. Ramesh asked the GEAC to stay its permission, while Mr. Kumar immediately ordered a ban on trials of Bt maize in Bihar.

The Chief Minister said failure of a multi-national hybrid maize seed that failed last year had cost the State government Rs. 61 crore as compensation paid to farmers.

Mr. Kumar also wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on staying the Seeds Bill in Parliament saying it was tilted in favour of multi-national companies. He wanted the government to have a say in the pricing of seeds.

Mr. Pawar said Parliament would take a decision on the controversial Bill.