About the Committee
In accordance with the "Rules for the manufacture, use/import/export and storage of hazardous microorganisms/ genetically engineered organisms or cells, 1989" (hereinafter referred as Rules, 1989) notified by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Government of India under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules Bharathidasan University has established an Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBSCC). The IBSC is responsible for reviewing and approving those research activities conducted by faculty, staff, students, and/or visiting scientists on Bharathidasan University property, and/or under the control of Bharathidasan University faculty, staff or students, that involve the use of biohazardous materials including regulated animal and plant pathogens, biological toxins, and recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules.
The responsibilities of the IBSC include, but are not limited to the following:
- Tailoring biosafety programme to the level of risk assessment
- Assess and monitor the research facilities, procedures and experts involved in GMOs/LMOs and rDNA research
- Inform the Principal Investigator about IBSC review, approval or rejection of their projects
- Information of all relevant activities involving the use of GMOs/LMOs and rDNA research to the RCGM
- Ensure that the information provided in the application form is correct and complete
- Provide guidance to Principal Investigator on the issues related to biosafety while using GMOs/LMOs and rDNA research including safety of all the members associated with the research activity
- Assess field experiments to ensure that the proposed risk assessment, risk management and emergency plan are sufficient
- Review the emergency plan proposed by the Principal Investigator for responding to an accidental release of a GMO and those adopted to meet any exigencies. Copies of site emergency plan to be submitted to RCGM, GEAC, State Biotechnology Coordination Committee (SBCC) or District Level Committee (DLC) as the case may be, as per Rules, 1989.
- Review and report to the Head of the organisation and to Member Secretary
- RCGM of any non-compliance of guidelines / problems
Members
| Dr. M. Selvam The Vice Chancellor Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli - 620 024. |
Chairperson |
| Dr. N. Thajuddin Professor, Department of Microbiology Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli - 620 024. |
Member Secretary |
| Dr. S. Sukumar Professor, Centre for Plant Molecular Biology Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore - 641 003. |
DBT Nominee |
| Dr. S. Uma Director and Principal Scientist ICAR-National Research Institute for Banana, Tiruchirappalli - 620 102. |
External Expert |
| Dr. G. Karunakaran Health Centre Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli - 620 024. |
Medical Expert |
| Dr. R. Babu Rajendran Professor, Department of Environmental Biotechnology Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli - 620 024. |
Internal Expert |
| Dr. B. D. Ranjitha Kumari Department of Botany Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli - 620 024. |
Internal Expert |
Guidelines for submitting application for ethical clearance by the IBSC
Step 1: Submit a hard copy of the application to the office of the Member Secretary, IBSC. A soft copy of the application should also be submitted via email. The application form can be downloaded from IBSC Protocol Form. Please note that the IBSC normally meets twice in a year (November and May), therefore the application should be submitted at least 30 days in advance (i.e., by September 30 for the November meeting, and by March 31 for the May meeting).
It is the duty of the primary investigator (PI) to apprise the IBSC about experiments involving recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or living modified organisms (LMOs) through the application as stated above. This should be done prior to submission of a grant application to a funding agency.
Note the following while preparing the applications
- 1. For experiments involving rDNA The PI must determine the bio-safety level as well as the category that the experiments fall under based on the guidelines provided on page 187 in the Recombinant DNA Safety Guidelines of DBT.
- 2. The assignment of the risk category of any microorganism(s) being handled as part of the experimental protocol must be determined based on the information provided in the pages 208-220 of document Recombinant DNA Safety Guidelines of DBT.
- 3. Please go through the guidelines provided by DBT in the Recombinant DNA Safety Guidelines of DBT to understand the responsibilities of the PI. The application will be evaluated by the committee (and subject expert if required) and the applicant may be asked to furnish other documents if required.
Step 2: A meeting of IBSC will be scheduled and the date will be communicate to the applicant at least 20 days in advance. The applicant may be asked to present his/her proposal to the committee and a decision will be communicated to applicant within a week.
All applicants are advised to go through the Indian Biosafety Rules & Regulations.