Stakeholders and experts today termed the government's moratorium on Bt Brinjal as a "wise decision" and asked it to form a transparent and credible regulatory system to carry out tests for any probable future use.

"I think it is a wise decision. It is appropriate to look at the problems carefully. The regulatory system has to be credible, transparent and effective," agricultural scientist and father of the green revolution M S Swaminathan said. He said that Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh would like to utilise the time period for studies and tests which should be completely shared with the public.

Even as she welcomed the decision on Bt Brinjal, Kavita Kurunganti, member of GM Free India said Ramesh had to look into other GM crops also like rice. "There is a need to address the issue in a holistic manner", she said.