A group of researchers and industry writers have constructed a narrative of technological triumph for Bt cotton in India, based on an empirical record of superior performance compared to conventional seed. Counterclaims of Bt cotton failure are attributed to mutually reinforcing interactions among non-governmental organisations which avoid rigorous comparisons. However, researchers and the biotechnology industry are also engaged in a similar authentication loop for generating, validating, and publicising such facts.

Salinity stress limits crop yield affecting plant growth and restricting the use of land. As world population is increasing at alarming rate, agricultural land is shrinking due to industrialization and/or habitat use. Hence, there is a need to utilize salt affected land to meet the food requirement. Although some success has been achieved through conventional breeding but its use is limited due to reproductive barrier and scarcity of genetic variations among major crops.

Agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy which plays the most decisive role in the socioeconomic development of the country. Indian agriculture is a miscellaneous and extensive sector involving a large number of actors. India has one of the largest and institutionally most complex agricultural research systems in the world. The agricultural research system in India includes some 27,500 scientists and more than one lakh supporting staff actively engaged in agricultural research, which makes it probably the largest research system in the world.

As an essential macroelement for all living cells, phosphorus is indispensable in agricultural production systems. Natural phosphorus reserves are limited, and it is therefore important to develop phosphorus-efficient crops. A major quantitative trait locus for phosphorus-deficiency tolerance, Pup1, was identified in the traditional aus-type rice variety Kasalath about a decade ago. However, its functional mechanism remained elusive until the locus was sequenced, showing the presence of a Pup1-specific protein kinase gene6, which we have named phosphorus-starvation tolerance 1 (PSTOL1).

The identification of an enzyme in rice that confers improved plant yields on phosphorus-deficient soils could open up new avenues for generating nutrient-efficient crops that can thrive on marginally fertile soils.