UPSC Prelims 2003 · General Studies
Question 19: Environment and Ecology
The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, whose permission is required for cultivation of any genetically modified crop such as Bt-Cotton in India, is under the Union Minister of
AnswerThe answer is (b).
The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), which approves the large-scale use and environmental release of genetically modified organisms, functions under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, set up by the 1989 rules under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Research-level work with recombinant DNA is overseen separately by bodies under the Department of Biotechnology. Remember: the GEAC approves releases and sits in the environment ministry.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) The agriculture ministry does not house the GEAC.
- (b) Correct: the Environment and Forests ministry (now Environment, Forest and Climate Change).
- (c) Commerce and Industry has no role in approving GM crops.
- (d) Rural Development has no role in approving GM crops.
Worth knowing: The ministry has since been renamed the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; the committee still sits there.
Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2003, General Studies. UPSC's own paper isn't online; the words are from a published compilation. The paper on upsc.gov.in.