Q.The prevention of large scale loss of biological interity

Biosafety and bioethics are the two related frameworks through which the risks and ethical implications of biotechnology - collectively referred to as ELSI, its Ethical, Legal and Social Implications - are managed. Biosafety is specifically the prevention of large-scale loss of biological integrity, focused on both ecological and human health; it is implemented through regular safety reviews, strict operating guidelines and ongoing risk management wherever biohazards, pathogens or genetically modified organisms are handled, guarding against risks such as pathogenicity, toxicity, antibiotic resistance, and unsafe disposal or containment. In India, biosafety is regulated through a tiered system: Institutional Bio-safety Committees (IBSCs) at the institutional level, the Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM) under the Department of Biotechnology for higher-risk laboratory research, and the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), the apex body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change with authority to approve commercial-scale GMO use and open-field trials. Bioethics, by contrast, is the study of the ethical issues that arise fro …