Question

The ________ amendment of the Indian Patent Bill was cleared by the Indian Parliament to take the issues related to GM research into consideration.

• A. first
• B. second
• C. third
• D. fourth

Answer 1

The correct option is B second

Genetic engineering or genetic modification is the scientific method of introducing a foreign gene into another organism. It has provided many useful innovations and revolutionised our lives due to multiple biochemical, agricultural, industrial and medical applications.
However, there are risks of genetic manipulation being used for unethical activities like bioterrorism, biowarfare production, humans being used for trials of new inventions, misuse of prenatal diagnosis and abortions, etc.
The genetic manipulation of living organisms cannot go uncontrolled and some ethical standards are required to evaluate the morality of all biotechnological activities. The recently cleared second amendment of the Indian Patent Bill, by the Indian Parliament, considers such issues.
In India, a three tier system constituting the following bodies has been established-
- Institutional Biosafety Committees at the company level
- The Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation under the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology
- The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee and the State Level Coordination Committee under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC)
These committees collectively make decisions and coordinate research to determine the validity of GM research and the safety of introducing GM organisms for public services.