Agricultural biotechnology and trade concerns in India: issues and policy options

Byline: Sachin Chaturvedi The introduction of genetically modified products has raised several issues related to safety, labelling and identifying preservation. These concerns have trade specific implications as well. This paper makes an effort to take stock of broad institutional arrangements which have come up to address some of these concerns viz. a viz. trade obligations. In this context, the role of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB) is also analysed. Some of the provisions of CPB are in direct conflict with the WTO agreement on Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary Measures (SPS). This poses severe policy challenges to countries like India where the pace of agricultural exports has risen very recently.