While addressing a press conference in New Delhi Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh announced the decision of imposing an open end moratorium on the release of the transgenic brinjal hybrid developed by Mahyco, a subsidiary of global seed giant Monsanto.

According to the minister, "This moratorium will last till such time independent scientific studies establish, to the satisfaction of both the public and professionals, the safety of the product from the point of view of its long-term impact on human health and environment, including the rich genetic wealth existing in brinjal in our country as Bt Brinjal is a transgenic brinjal created out of inserting a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis into Brinjal".

The moratorium period will also be used to operationalise an independent regulatory authority and hold a parliamentary debate on private investment in agricultural biotechnology and the factors like lack of clear consensus among the scientific community; opposition from 10 State governments, especially from the major brinjal-producing States; questions raised about the safety and testing process; lack of an independent biotechnology regulatory authority; negative public sentiment and fears among consumers and lack of a global precedent.

After consulting to scientist MS Swaminathan GEAC "engage and interact with all scientists, institutions and civil society groups who had submitted representations" will now be called the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee, in contrast to the approval committee to study all aspects of GM technology in agriculture and arrive at a measured conclusion.