Document Fragment View

Matching Fragments

Equally, Sir, in this context, I would like to stress the point made by Shri Rupchand Pal that the whole of genetics technology is in such an early phase of evolution that all of us would be well advised to go back to reading that 19th Century novel by Mary Shelley called Frankenstein. At that time, Mary Shelley had the foresight to see that scientists bemused by their own ability might create monsters over which they had no control. The same thing could happen with genetic technology.

We are seeing even today the controversy over Bt Cotton where on the one hand the immediate economic gains are so overwhelming as to want us to go into Bt Cotton, but at the same time wise technological advice coming from elsewhere in the world warns us that this short-term gain may be at the expense of the huge long-term environmental loss. Therefore, I believe it is the duty of Shri Murasoli Maran and his successor – because we do not know how long this Government will last – Minister in charge of the patents regime to be very very aggressive in the TRIPS Council, in WTO generally, in ensuring that genetic technology is not merely seen in terms of a profit motive but its social consequences, its developmental consequences, its environmental consequences are fully taken into consideration as we move forward with the TRIPS regime; perhaps even to amending that TRIPS regime if genetic technology and its consequences warrant our doing so.