The Indian government has sent a "wrong signal" to the industry by putting on hold commercial cultivation of genetically modified brinjal, Biocon India chairman Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has said.

"This is a very wrong signal the government has sent to the industry," Shaw told reporters in London.

On February 9, Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh announced a moratorium on the release of Bt brinjal till such time independent scientific studies establish the safety of the product on impact on human health.

Bt Brinjal is a genetically modified vegetable which is infused with Cry1Ac gene from a bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis to make the plant resistant to the fruit and shoot borers and certain pests.

Some scientists and NGOs have been opposing it, arguing that the genes were toxic and would affect the health of the consumers. Some states, including Congress-ruled Andhra Pradesh, were also opposed to the move.