# Seed bodies urge government to legalise HTBt cotton as illegal acreage hits 30% 2026-10-07T19:02:06+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 3 independent outlets Seed industry bodies FSII and NSAI on Wednesday, 7 October 2026, demanded that the government allow commercial cultivation of herbicide-tolerant Bt (HTBt) cotton, citing a study showing illegal HTBt cotton covered 65 to 72 lakh acres in Kharif 2025-26, or 24 to 30% of India's total cotton area. The unauthorised crop has sustained an informal seed market worth an estimated Rs 1,500 crore, with 1.25 crore packets of HTBt seed being sold. The study, 'Unauthorized Cultivation of HTBt Cotton in India: Extent, Drivers & Implications', conducted by the South Asia Biotechnology Centre (SABC) with FSII and NSAI support, found 98.2% of field samples carried at least one genetically modified trait. Labour shortages and high weeding costs have driven the shift: glyphosate use costs Rs 750 to 850 per acre against Rs 12,000 to 15,000 for manual weeding. Glyphosate use rose 26% in a year to 35,642 kilolitres in 2025-26. FSII Chairman Ajai Rana said Mahyco had applied for approval in 2024 and called for fast-track clearance to help India regain self-sufficiency in cotton. ## Indian Opinion Analysis All three outlets cover the same study and the seed industry bodies' demand for legalisation with near-identical facts and quotes, giving uniform neutral wire-style coverage. New Indian Express includes a stronger warning from Dr C.D. Mayee about unchecked use of unapproved genes and a call for stewardship only through legalisation, but this does not shift the overall framing. Business Standard and Times of India focus on the industry's plea for fast-track approval and the Rs 1,500 crore informal market. The consensus leaves no gap between pro- and critical framings. The story rests on the regulatory next step: Mahyco's application from 2024 and the industry's call for government action. ## Coverage Coverage: 3 sources, 3 neutral - newindianexpress.com (neutral report) Presents study findings and expert warnings without advocacy - business-standard.com (neutral report) Reports seed industry demands and study data, no editorialising - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Quotes industry calls for approval, straight news framing This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: FSII, NSAI, South Asia Biotechnology Centre Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/seed-bodies-urge-government-to-legalise-htbt-cotton-as-illegal-acreage-hits-30/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/seed-bodies-urge-government-to-legalise-htbt-cotton-as-illegal-acreage-hits-30/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/