India and the international biosafety law: a critical legal appraisal of the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill, 2013

Abstract

In the case of biotechnology, one of the major challenges in the process of regulation is to establish and maintain an appropriate balance between potential benefits of the technology and environmental and health risks posed by it. Though this dilemma has been resolved to a certain extent, owing to the provisions of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety in the evaluation and the management of risks, the contracting parties face several difficulties and challenges in the development of the legal framework implementing the international obligations at the national level. It is in this connection, the paper attempts to find out how biotechnology is currently regulated in India and how it is proposed to be regulated under the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill, 2013.