Skip to content

DMH-11 GM mustard regulatory status Photo: placeholder pending image-fill pass

DMH-11 GM mustard: regulatory status

Dhara Mustard Hybrid 11 (DMH-11) is a genetically engineered hybrid of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) developed by the Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants (CGMCP), Delhi University, under Prof. Deepak Pental. It is the first genetically modified food crop to receive environmental-release clearance from the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The clearance, granted in October 2022, has been the subject of sustained legal and policy debate. As of the most recent Supreme Court ruling (July 2024), commercial cultivation has not begun pending further policy and judicial process.

The technology

DMH-11 uses the barnase-barstar hybrid-breeding system originally developed by Plant Genetic Systems (now Bayer/BASF). The female parent ("Varuna" with the barnase gene from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens) is male-sterile; the male parent ("EH-2" with the barstar fertility-restorer gene) restores fertility in the F1 hybrid. The system enables stable hybrid seed production in mustard, an otherwise predominantly self-pollinated crop where conventional CMS-based hybrid breeding had been difficult. A bar gene confers tolerance to the herbicide glufosinate-ammonium, used only in parental-line seed-production fields, not in commercial cultivation. CGMCP positions DMH-11 as a public-sector hybrid yielding 25-30 percent more than the conventional Varuna check.

Regulatory timeline

  • 2002: GEAC permitted Bt-cotton, the first commercial GM crop in India.
  • 2010: Bt-brinjal cleared by GEAC but placed under indefinite moratorium by the then Environment Minister.
  • 2015-2017: GEAC examined DMH-11 biosafety dossier; in May 2017 it recommended environmental release subject to conditions; the Centre paused approval.
  • October 2022: GEAC, in its 147th meeting, recommended environmental release of DMH-11 for seed production and field demonstrations under a four-year ICAR-supervised observational programme.
  • October 2022 onwards: PIL by Aruna Rodrigues and others before the Supreme Court challenging the GEAC decision; the Court issued status-quo orders restraining field planting.
  • July 2024: a two-judge bench delivered a split verdict — Justice Karol upheld the GEAC clearance subject to conditions; Justice Nagarathna set aside the approval and ordered fresh policy formulation. The matter was referred to the Chief Justice for assignment to a larger bench. The interim status quo against commercial cultivation continues.

Points of contention

The principal scientific, legal and policy issues raised by petitioners include: (i) the herbicide-tolerance trait — whether the bar gene's presence in a parental line will lead to glufosinate spraying on commercial mustard fields and impact India's 80,000 tonne annual honey export and pollinator populations; (ii) the adequacy of biosafety data — particularly chronic-toxicity and allergenicity studies; (iii) the labelling and consumer-choice question for the first GM food crop; and (iv) procedural questions on the GEAC composition and conflict-of-interest norms. The developer and supporting scientists argue that the trait is well-characterised, that environmental release is for ICAR-supervised observational trials and not full commercialisation, and that DMH-11 is a domestically developed hybrid with potential to reduce edible-oil import dependence (see Oilseeds Edible Oil Import Policy).

Current status

As of mid-2025, DMH-11 cannot be legally cultivated, sold or imported into India for commercial use. Seed production for research and observational trials is contingent on the final Supreme Court order and any subsequent policy direction from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. No other GM food crop is currently approved for environmental release in India.

See also: Mustard crop, Pusa Bold mustard, NMOOP, Edible-oil import policy.

Sources

  1. Decisions on Environmental Release of GE Mustard (DMH-11). Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee, MoEFCC.
  2. DMH-11 technology brief. Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants, Delhi University.
  3. GM Mustard Supreme Court Verdict July 2024. Press Information Bureau.