Did Bt cotton fail India, or did India fail Bt cotton? Saga of the white gold
Published on: May 13, 2026, 11:29 a.m. | Source: India Today
Did Bt cotton fail in India, or did India fail Bt cotton? Inside the science, the seeds in the pipeline, and the Rs 5,659 crore Mission for Cotton Productivity now trying to undo two decades of regulatory standstill, as scientists try to catch up with a moth that has been evolving since 2014. For 20 years, the pink bollworm has been quietly evolving past India's Bt cotton, while the country's laboratories waited for a regulatory signature that never came. Inside the slow fading of white gold, and the Rs 5,659 crore mission to bring it back.
