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Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) is referred to as the apex body that allows for the commercial release of GM crops. It keeps a check on the use, import, and export of genetically modified (GM) organisms and crops. It had allowed the commercial release of Bt cotton in the year 2002. At the moment, more than 95 percent of the country’s cotton areas fall under Bt cotton. The import of any GM material is governed by the Environment Protection Act 1985, while GM import proposals are analyzed and examined by Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) under the Environment Ministry in order to make a recommendation to either accept or reject the proposal. Here, we will be learning more about the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee and discussing some important questions.
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Keyterms: Genetic Engineering, GM crops, Crops, Cotton, DNA, GEAC, Environment, Forest, Climate
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Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)
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Science has excelled a lot in the past few years. It has been working to help human survival and also make it easier. To make life easier, the production of genetically modified organisms and crop gas has been increasing. For this, scientists extract DNA from one organism and insert it in the cells of other organisms in order to produce a variety that is better than the previous one. As there is no bar to human selfishness, humans go on harming certain species of plants and animals. In order to keep a check on this and to prevent such exploitation, the government of India has created GEAC i.e., Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee.
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GEAC Functions
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Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee is a statuary body that works under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change (MoEFCC). It basically looks after the effectiveness of releasing GM organisms into public services. The different functions of GEAC are mentioned below:
- This body was formed under the Environment Protection Act under which it is responsible to keep a check on the use, production, import, and export of genetically modified organisms.
- Certain hazardous/ GM microorganisms are used to carry out experiments. With the advancement in the field of science and biotechnology, this is being done at greater levels. So, GEAC checks the large-scale use of recombinants.
- Also, not all the recombinants are safe to be released into the environment. The GEAC checks the effectiveness of such researches and before releasing it into the public services, it undergoes certain tests and trials.
- GM microorganisms and also crops need to be tested before their commercial use which is done by GEAC. Also, when these recombinants are used in pharma products, it is to be used directly by humans. So the GEAC looks for the risks involved in doing so.
- GEAC also has the power to prohibit the manufacture and use of certain recombinants as they are hazardous for commercial use.
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GEAC Composition
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The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee is chaired by the Special Secretary or Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, GOI. A representative of the Department of Biotechnology is a co-chair.
There are many other members who meet and gather every month in order to review the applications in the Committee’s domain. The members comprise experts from other ministries as well as institutions such as the ICAR, ICMR, CCMB, and so on.
Things to Remember
- It works under MoEFCC i.e., Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change. It keeps an eye on GM researches and its use.
- Its functions include checking the validity of recombinants, their production, and also their export and import in India. In India, GEAC has only approved Bt Cotton in crops.
- It has also approved 30 recombinant medicines out of which 12 are used commercially.
- GEAC was earlier called Genetic Engineering Approval Committee which was changed to Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee in the year 2010.
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Sample Questions
Ques. Describe the responsibility of GEAC, set up by the Indian Government. OR What does the organization GEAC do? Check with reference to genetic engineering. (2 marks)
Ans. GEAC- Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee is a body set up by the Indian Government to look after the validity or effectiveness of GM researches and the risks involved in releasing them into the environment. It has the power to approve or prohibit the use of recombinants for commercial purposes.
Ques. Which GM crop is GEAC approved and how is it formed? (2 marks)
Ans. Bt Cotton is one such GM crop that is approved by GEAC. It is formed by the recombinant DNA technique. In this, two foreign genes from the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis are combined to form a cotton plant with a good yield that is also resistant to bollworm.
Ques. Explain Bt Cotton on the basis of the following options. (1 mark)
(1) A GM plant
(2) Insect Resistant
(3) Resistant to all pesticides
(4) A bacterial Gene expressing system
Ans. Bt Cotton is a GM plant that is a bacterial Gene expressing system and is resistant to insects.
It does not satisfy option 3.
Ques. How is GEAC a statuary body? (2 marks)
Ans. A statuary body is formed as a written law that is passed by the legislation. In order to control the use, export, and import of GM organisms, GEAC was formed which works under the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate change (MoEFCC). This law is mentioned in the Environment Protection Act 1986.
Ques. What is the new name given to GEAC? (2 marks)
Ans. GEAC was named as Genetic Engineering Approval Committee when it was formed but it was renamed to Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee in the year 2010.
Ques. What are the roles and responsibilities of GEAC? (5 marks)
Ans. The following are the roles and responsibilities of GEAC:
- Certain hazardous/ GM microorganisms are used to carry out experiments. With the advancement in the field of science and biotechnology, this is being done at greater levels. So, GEAC checks the large-scale use of recombinants.
- Also, not all the recombinants are safe to be released into the environment. The GEAC checks the effectiveness of such researches and before releasing it into the public services, it undergoes certain tests and trials.
- GM microorganisms and also crops need to be tested before their commercial use which is done by GEAC. Also, when these recombinants are used in pharma products, it is to be used directly by humans. So the GEAC looks for the risks involved in doing so.
- GEAC also has the power to prohibit the manufacture and use of certain recombinants as they are hazardous for commercial use.
- This body was formed under the Environment Protection Act under which it is responsible to keep a check on the use, production, import, and export of genetically modified organisms.
Ques. What are the objectives of GEAC? (3 marks)
Ans. The objectives of GEAC are as follows:
- GEAC functions basically in testing genetically modified crops, which are prepared by recombinant DNA technology.
- DNA molecules from two different species get combined and are inserted into a host organism to produce new genetic combinations that will prove of great value to different fields of science in the process of genetic engineering.
- The other objective of the committee is to control the use of genetically modified crops without causing harm to the environment.
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