Bt Brinjal Biopiracy Case

In News

Recently, the Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the Karnataka High Court to continue hearing public interest litigation (PIL) on biopiracy which it had sent to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in 2013.

About 

  • Original PIL:
    • A decade ago, Environment Support Group (ESG) filed a PIL before the Karnataka High Court.
    • It had stated that the seed of the Bt Brinjal, developed by the public-private partnership, was created by accessing six varieties of indigenous brinjal seeds illegally.
    • The high court then transferred the petition to the NGT.
  • Current Status:
    • The SC has now restored the petition back to the high court stating that the NGT did not have the power to look into petitions challenging the constitutional validity.
  • Biopiracy:
    • Biopiracy is the term used to refer to the use of bio-resources by multinational companies and other organisations without proper authorisation from the countries and people concerned without compensatory payment.
  • Bt brinjal
    • Brinjal has been genetically modified by inserting a protein gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis to give protection against certain pests. 
      • The result is Bt brinjal

Source: DTE

 
Previous article Global South
Next article Meitei script