India's agriculture minister Sharad Pawar has dismissed calls to halt field trials of genetically modified crops, claiming the government cannot take the "luxury" of banning crops which could be of use for food security.

Mr Pawar's comments were in response to calls from a Parliamentary standing committee, chaired by Communist Party leader Basudeb Acharia, which recommended all field trials of GM crops be halted until better monitoring and surveillance measures are developed. In light of a scandal surrounding a variety of modified Bt Cotton, the committee also called for an overhaul of industry's crop regulation system, and an increase in transparency.

The agriculture minister said trials should continue; his departmental report said that halting crop trials would put India at a disadvantage to other rapidly growing economies such as Brazil and China and stifle development of new scientific talent in the country. However, he advised caution and "abundant precaution" must be taken before allowing crops to be grown commercially, to ensure they do not present a risk to the environment, existing crops or human health.

Although the Indian government numbered amongst the world's first to recognise the legal right to food, the implementation of the new right is proving complicated. Nevertheless, although some national leaders and industry players have made calls to roll out research and development of GM crops, food policy experts maintain that they are not needed to achieve global food security and that debate over the controversial crops is a smokescreen for more serious issues of inequality and food waste.

Following the release of the parliamentary committee's report, the Indian Supreme Court recommended a ten year moratorium on cultivating GM crops in October, and asked that independent biosafety experts examine the safety dossiers of all GM crops cleared for trials in the country.