India has never allowed imports of any genetically modified (GM) products and will not do so in the future, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday, describing the issue as "very sensitive" for the country.
Source: The Hindu BusinessLine
Addressing students at Kirori Mal College in New Delhi, Goyal said the dairy sector is equally sensitive, and that India has never given any duty concessions in this sector in any free trade agreement (FTA) it has signed.
Source: Rural Voice
"We are very sensitive to opening up to certain agricultural produce, certain goods that we are very strong on like marine products. We are very sensitive to opening our dairy. In fact, till date, we have never opened up dairy for anybody," the minister said, according to The Hindu BusinessLine.
"We are very sensitive not to allow any GM products to come to India and we have never allowed it and we'll never allow it in the future," he added.
Religious sensitivities and certification
Goyal linked the dairy position in part to religious sensitivities. He said producers in some foreign countries use calf meat or rennet — an enzyme traditionally obtained from the stomach lining of young calves and used in cheese-making — while producing dairy products, and that India does not allow that. Imported dairy must be strictly certified so that the religious sensitivities of large parts of India are not hurt, he said.
He added that in the trade pacts India has finalised, the country has "never ever" compromised on sensitive products, and that protecting farmers, fishermen and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) remains a red line in negotiations.
What India seeks instead
Goyal said India always seeks preferential access for sectors in which it is competitive — such as textiles, pharmaceuticals, agricultural products and gems and jewellery — with duties on Indian goods lower than those faced by competing nations such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, China and the Philippines.
Rural Voice reported that the minister also cited a target of $1 trillion (about Rs 94 lakh crore at current exchange rates) in exports for the current financial year, and said the government had not compromised on sensitive products in any concluded trade agreement.
Dairy supports millions of small Indian farmer households, and GM food imports are a long-running public debate. Goyal's remarks restate India's negotiating position as it finalises and implements new trade agreements: market access for Indian exports, but no opening on GM products or dairy.
Sources: The Hindu BusinessLine and Rural Voice, reporting the minister's address at Kirori Mal College, New Delhi, on November 3, 2026.