Bt Cotton
India's Only Approved GM Crop
Bollgard Bt cotton, developed by Monsanto (in collaboration with Mahyco — Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company), was approved by GEAC for commercial cultivation on March 26, 2002 — making India one of the major adopters of GM crop technology at the time.
- Bt cotton carries a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) that produces an insecticidal protein (Cry protein) toxic to the bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera), the primary pest of cotton in India.
- Initial approval was for three cotton hybrids (Bt Mech 12, Bt Mech 162, Bt Mech 184) in central and southern India, for three years (April 2002–March 2005), later expanded and extended.
- Adoption rate: By FY25, Bt cotton covers approximately 11–12 million hectares, representing over 95% of India's total cotton area.
- India is the world's largest cotton producer, and Bt cotton's adoption is credited with a dramatic reduction in pesticide use on cotton in the early 2000s.
- No other GM crop has received commercial cultivation approval in India. GM mustard (Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11, developed by Delhi University) received GEAC approval in October 2022 but remains under regulatory review; Bt brinjal received GEAC approval in 2010 but the government placed a moratorium on its release.
- The first approval was made under MoEFCC's Genetic Engineering Approval Committee — under the Environment Protection Act 1986 and Rules, 1989.
● Tracked since April 20, 2026 · last seen June 23, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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