What are GM crops? Name any one such crop in India.

Genetic manipulation is a process of transferring (genes) characters that are desirable from one plant to another plant. In simple words it can seen as changing the normal gene arrangement according to your desirable needs.

When the gene for a particular character is introduced in a plant cell, a transgenic plant is produced. These transgenic plants have characters of both the old and the newly introduced genes or just the new gene. The crops produced by these methods are called genetically modified crops.

For example: Bt-cotton has been genetically modified by the insertion of one or more genes from a common soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis. These genes encode for the production of insecticidal proteins, and thus, genetically transformed plants produce one or more toxins as they grow.

The main selling points of Bt-cotton are:

a) The reductions in pesticides to be sprayed on a crop.

b) Potential reduction in the cost of cultivation

EXPLANATION: Let us assume there is a wild plant that produces small fruits. If a gene responsible for a larger fruit size is introduced in this plant, this plant becomes transgenic, and starts producing larger fruits. Similarly, genes for higher yield, disease resistance, etc. can be introduced in any desired plant. Therefore, gene manipulation plays an important role in agricultural practices. It helps in improving crop variety. It ensures food security and insect resistant crops. It also improves the quality and yield of crops.