NDRI-Karnal Produces First Cloned Calves in India; Newborns are doing well, experts say.
Written byTimes Magazine
For the first time in the country, scientists from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the National Dairy Research Institute have successfully cloned a Gir cow in Karnal, Haryana, the institute announced on Monday.
Ganga, a Gir woman, was born on March 16th. The 32-kilogram calf is healthy and doing well, the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) said in its statement.
Native breeds of cattle such as the Gir, Sahiwal, Tharparkar and Red Sindhi play a key role in milk production and the development of India's dairy industry.
“The low productivity of native cows remains a major obstacle to sustainable milk production, but given their better adaptation to Indian conditions, these breeds need to be propagated and protected.
“Around the world, the use of assisted reproductive technology has been recognized as rapid and practical for the propagation of genetic material of the highest quality. Among the various technologies, animal cloning could play a key role in accelerating elite animal breeding and protecting endangered breeds.” Gir, Sahiwal and Red Sindhi in 2021
A team of scientists consisting of Dr Kumar Singh, Dr. Ajay Aswal, Dr. SS Lathwal, Dr. Subhash Kumar, Dr. Ranjeet Verma, Dr. Kartikey Patel and Dr. MS Chauhan have been working for over two years to develop an indigenous method for cloning cattle
“As part of this ambitious project, a cloned female Gir named Ganga was born on March 16, 2023, weighing 32 kg and growing well,” reads it in the note.
“Gir, the native breed of Gujarat, is gaining popularity among dairy farmers due to their gentle nature and the beneficial effects of milk. Gir cattle are very hardy and known for their tolerance to stressful conditions and resistance to various tropical diseases.
"Besides India, Gir cattle are also very popular and have been exported to Brazil, the United States, Mexico and Venezuela for the development of Zebu cows (cow breed)," he said.
The Director General of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), Dr. Himanshu Pathak, said, "Our native animals are disease-resistant and well-adapted to the country's hot and humid climate.
Pathak, who is also Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, added: “I applaud the team for their innovative approach to developing an indigenous method of livestock cloning.I hope the team will continue their research to perfect the technology and produce more cloned calves.
"The technology has the potential to meet the needs of local farmers who produce more milk for Indian farmers." ICAR-NDRI Director and Vice Chancellor, Dr. Dheer Singh, said: “This achievement will help us to expand and start bovine cloning research activities in India.
"The technology developed will add a new dimension to our scientific efforts to produce high quality domestic dairy animals for the benefit of farmers."
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