Gene Revolution
Topic: Land Reforms, the Green Revolution and Farm Subsidies · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Gene Revolution is the use of genetic engineering and biotechnology to raise crop yields or give crops new traits, such as resistance to pests. Scientists change the genes of a plant directly. They may add a gene from another organism, which gives a genetically modified (GM) crop, or they may edit the plant's own genes. It is often seen as the next step after the Green Revolution.
Example
Bt cotton was approved in India in 2002. It carries a bacterial gene that protects it from bollworm, and it is the only GM crop grown commercially in India. GM mustard DMH-11 was approved by GEAC, the regulator for GM crops, for environmental release in 2022. The Supreme Court gave a split verdict in 2024, so the case is still in court. In 2025, ICAR released genome-edited rice varieties. These have no foreign gene.
Don't confuse with
- Green Revolution: its HYV seeds came from conventional plant breeding, which means crossing plants. They did not come from changing genes in a laboratory.
- Genome editing vs GM: a GM crop carries a foreign gene. A genome-edited crop has only its own genes, with small changes made to them.
Related concepts
- Crop rotation
- Intercropping
- Mixed cropping
- Micro-irrigation
- Evergreen Revolution
- Second Green Revolution
- Yield gap
- Precision farming
- Digital agriculture
- Custom hiring centre