INDIA  SAYS  NO  TO  GM  FOOD

Two items on this:

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Centre's no to genetically modified food till proved safe - Times of India, 20 Nov 2000
 http://www.timesofindia.com/191100/19mcal6.htm

CALCUTTA:  Union agriculture minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday asserted that genetically-modified seeds and food would not be allowed into the country till their safety was scientifically proved.

"There is a lot of apprehension in the country about genetically-modified seeds and food. We cannot allow import of things which are not acceptable to the people. Let health and environmental scientists decide how safe those are," Kumar said while inaugurating the Regional Plant
Quarantine Centre (RPQC) at Salt Lake near here.

Stating that the Centre had decided not to allow entry of 'Terminator' seeds into the country, he said while India aimed at becoming a superpower in bio-technology, the concerns of the people must also be addressed.

Warning that there had been a 'globalisation of pests,' he called upon RPQC scientists to remain vigilant to check the entry of harmful exotic pests and germs into the country's agricultural produce.

The Rs 4.14 crore RPQC, the third after those in Chennai and New Delhi, has been implemented by the union agriculture ministry with funds from undp and consultancy from the FAO.

Provided with latest equipment, it would serve quarantine inspection purposes for export and import of plants and seeds in West Bengal, besides the Eastern and North-Eastern states. (PTI)

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India Says No to Genetically Modified Foods and Seeds -  NewsEdge Corporation 20 Nov 2000

NEW DELHI (Nov. 18) - Genetically modified seeds and food would not be allowed into India till their safety is scientifically proved, Agriculture Minister Nitish Kumar said on Saturday.

According to the Press Trust of India (PTI), Kumar said in Calcutta, 1, 460 kilometers southeast of here, that there is a lot of apprehension about genetically modified seeds and food in the country.

"We can not allow import of things which are not acceptable to the people. Let health and environmental scientists decide how safe those are," the minister added while inaugurating a regional plant quarantine center near Calcutta.

Declaring that the central government has decided not to allow entry of "terminator" seeds into the country, Kumar said that while his country is aimed at becoming a superpower in bio- technology, the concerns of the people must also be addressed.

Warning that there has been a "globalization of pests," he called on Indian scientists to remain vigilant to check the entry of harmful exotic pests and germs into agricultural produce of the country.