Genome-edited rice trials under fire: ICAR, Agriculture Ministry accused of data rigging

By A Representative 

The Coalition for a GM-Free India has accused the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Ministry of Agriculture of committing what it termed a “scientific fraud” in the ongoing genome-edited rice programme. At a press conference today, the Coalition presented what it described as clear evidence that ICAR’s own official trial data had been manipulated to promote two genome-edited rice varieties — Pusa DST-1 and DRR Dhan 100 (Kamala) — as false successes.

Citing the Annual Progress Reports of ICAR’s All India Coordinated Research Project on Rice (AICRPR) for 2023 and 2024, the Coalition said the conclusions drawn in those reports directly contradict the recorded data. It accused ICAR of “rigging results and manufacturing hype” to promote unsafe and untested technologies. “As has become the habit with biotech lobbies in the country, seen earlier with Bt brinjal and GM mustard, science is yet again being compromised to push genome-edited varieties as miracle seeds, without adequate testing or data,” the Coalition said in a statement.

The group alleged that this attempt to project genome editing as a “global first” was a deliberate strategy to bypass public resistance to genetic engineering in food crops. “Gene editing is genetic engineering by definition, and it cannot be exempted from biosafety regulations,” the Coalition said, warning that such manipulations erode public trust in scientific institutions and endanger farmers’ livelihoods.

According to the Coalition, ICAR’s own reports show that Pusa DST-1, which was claimed to perform better under saline and alkaline conditions, actually yielded at par or lower than its parent MTU-1010 in 2023, with underperformance at 12 of 20 test sites. Despite this, ICAR’s summary table claimed a 30% yield increase by selectively using data from a handful of locations. Similarly, DRR Dhan 100 (Kamala), said to yield 17% higher and mature 20 days earlier than its parent BPT 5204, reportedly underperformed in several zones, with missing or inconsistent data. The 2024 report, the Coalition noted, excluded data from several sites without explanation and relied on results from only six sites to justify its claims.

The Coalition said these inconsistencies amounted to deliberate manipulation. “These are not minor errors but a dangerous pattern of bad science,” said independent researcher Soumik Banerjee. Activist and Coalition member Kavitha Kuruganti called the issue one of “fundamental human rights,” arguing that flawed science in agriculture directly affects the lives of millions of farmers. “It is not to be taken lightly — how can the jumla culture be allowed to enter the scientific arena?” she said.

The Coalition urged the immediate withdrawal of all promotional claims regarding genome-edited rice, an independent review of ICAR’s trial data and methodology, and public accountability from ICAR and the Ministry of Agriculture. It also called for a moratorium on genome-edited crop releases until credible biosafety regulations and independent oversight mechanisms are in place, with all data made public.

The group warned that “doing junk science in the name of innovation” threatens not only farmers’ health and livelihoods but also the credibility of Indian science itself.