India is the largest biotech crop nation

India's economic boom story does not just stop by the information technology sector.

According to a leading global biotech expert, India has emerged as the fastest biotech crop-growing nation in 2006.

Martina Newell-McGloughlin, a noted US biotech expert, told reporters here that India has also outstripped China as the largest cultivator of the crop by 0.3 million hectares. "This has been made possible for India by increased cultivation of biotech cotton," she said.

McGloughlin, who is the director at California University's biotech research & education programme, said: "India has about 3.8 million hectares under biotech cotton cultivation against 3.5

million hectares in China."

She said India has developed 62 biotech cotton hybrids by 2006 compared to 3 biotech cotton hybrids in 2002.

"Biotech cotton exports from India have also gone up from 0.9 million bales in 2004 to 4.7 million bales in 2006. Indian biotech cotton cultivators are registering 88% increased profit per hectare which is about $250," said McGloughlin.

According to McGloughlin, global biotech crop cultivation had reached 252 million acres across 22 countries.

"Biotech crop cultivation is growing manifold and majority of the cultivating countries are the developing economies," she added.