Jorhat, Feb. 25: The Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) chickpea, developed by Assam Agricultural University (AAU), is one of the two genetically modified (GM) crops that have been recommended for deregulation at a meeting that discussed deregulation of GM crops in India in New Delhi on Tuesday.

AAU vice-chancellor K.M. Bujarbaruah announced this ahead of his discussion with the professors of University of Aberdeen, UK, regarding a collaborative research programme with the department of biotechnology centre (DBT) of the varsity.

"It is a proud moment for us that India is clearing GM crops path through Assam Agricultural University. BT pigeon pea, developed by International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Hyderabad, is the other GM crop that got recommendation for deregulation," he said.

Director of DBT centre B.C. Sarmah, who developed the BT chickpea, resistant to pod borer infestation, said confined field trials had been conducted in Andhra Pradesh and an average of 25 per cent more yield than non-BT chickpea was achieved. The production was 41 per cent more than non-BT chickpea in other trial areas, he added.

"India imported 4.7 million tonnes of chickpea in 2014-15 and it cost $2.6 billion. Till January this year, 4.41 million has already been imported and it cost US $2.79 billion," Sarmah said.

"The BT chickpea, when deregulated, will help decrease its import, make our country self-sufficient in chickpea production and we will make profit," Bujarbaruah said.

He added that the two-day discussion with the professors from the University of Aberdeen would chalk out areas where the intervention of biotechnology was required. "The projects will be taken up on a collaborative manner. We will have to take into consideration how value addition can be done through biotechnology and otherwise," he said.

Bujarbaruah said intervention into factors like rainfall would also have to be taken into consideration. Collaboration between the University of Aberdeen and fisheries, food and nutrition department of the College of Home Science under AAU could be explored, he added.

The three professors from University of Aberdeen were rice geneticist Adam Price, who headed the delegates from UK, Sam Martin of aquaculture department and Alex Douglas of bioinformatics department.

Bujarbaruah said the DBT centre, funded by the department of biotechnology, central government, had received an extension of five years because of its good research projects. "We are planning to turn this into a biotechnology institute," he said.