What stands in the way of the widespread and careful adoption of ‘Genetic Modification (GM)’ technology is an ‘Intellectual Property Rights’ regime that seeks to create private monopolies for such technologies. If GM technology is largely corporate driven, it seeks to maximize profits and that too in the short run. That is why corporations make major investments for herbicide-tolerant and pest-resistant crops. Such properties have only a short window, as soon enough, pests and weeds will evolve to overcome such resistance. This suits the corporations. The National Farmers Commission pointed out that priority must be given in genetic modification to the incorporation of genes that can help impart resistance to drought, salinity and other stresses .

Question: On the basis of the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:
1. The issue of effects of natural calamities on agriculture is not given due consideration by GM technology companies.
2. In the long run, GM technology will not be able to solve agricultural problems arising due to global warming.
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

The correct option is 1 only.

Let us analyze the passage to understand why only the first assumption is valid:
1. Analyzing Assumption 1: The passage states that because GM technology is corporate-driven, corporations prioritize maximizing profits in the short run. Therefore, they focus their investments on herbicide-tolerant and pest-resistant crops. It then highlights that the National Farmers Commission recommended giving priority to incorporating genes that impart resistance to drought, salinity, and other stresses. Drought and salinity are direct consequences of natural calamities or environmental stresses. The fact that the Commission had to explicitly point out this priority implies that the corporations developing GM technology are currently not giving due consideration to these issues. Thus, Assumption 1 is valid.
2. Analyzing Assumption 2: While the passage mentions that corporations focus on short-term traits like herbicide tolerance and pest resistance (which pests and weeds will soon overcome), and notes that priority should be given to stresses like drought and salinity, it does not state or assume that GM technology itself is inherently incapable of solving agricultural problems arising from global warming in the long run. Rather, the passage suggests that the current corporate-driven focus and IP regime are the obstacles, not the technology itself. Indeed, the National Farmers Commission suggests that GM technology *could* be used to build resistance to drought and salinity (stresses related to global warming) if prioritized correctly. Therefore, Assumption 2 is not a valid assumption from the text.

Hence, only Assumption 1 is valid.