Context
India’s dairy sector is increasingly using Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) to raise milk productivity and conserve indigenous bovine genetics — speeding up genetic improvement beyond what conventional breeding allows.
The ART Methods
- Artificial Insemination (AI) — Artificial Insemination is the process of introducing semen from a selected superior bull into the female reproductive tract without natural mating.
- Oestrus Synchronisation — Oestrus synchronisation means using hormones to make a group of females come into heat at approximately the same time.
- MOET — MOET is used to obtain several embryos from a genetically superior female.
- IVF — In Vitro Fertilisation; fertilisation outside the body under laboratory conditions
- OPU — Ovum Pick-Up; collects oocytes from live donor females without surgery
- Sexed semen — influences the sex ratio of calves, improving breeding efficiency
- Cloning — Cloning produces an animal that is genetically almost identical to another animal. The most well-known method is Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT).
India’s Cloning Milestones
- 2009 — the world’s first buffalo calf cloned using the Hand-guided Cloning Technique, at ICAR-NDRI, Karnal
- 2025 — India’s first cloned cattle, a Gir female calf named GANGA, produced at ICAR-NDRI using OPU for oocyte collection and SCNT for embryo reconstruction
- Scientists have also generated cloned Badri embryos, and are exploring cloning of elite high-producing Badri cows
Indigenous Breeds
- India has over 50 officially recognised indigenous cattle breeds
- Valued for adaptability to local climates, disease resistance and suitability for low-input farming
- Many produce A2 beta-casein milk
- Important dairy breeds: Gir, Sahiwal, Tharparkar, Rathi, Red Sindhi, Kankrej, Hariana, Deoni, Ongole
- Badri cattle — indigenous to Uttarakhand and recognised as the state animal; important for Himalayan bovine diversity and mountain agriculture
Government Schemes
- Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM) — launched December 2014, for development and conservation of indigenous breeds, genetic upgradation and milk productivity. Interventions include the Nationwide Artificial Insemination Programme, sex-sorted semen and IVF technology
- RGM outlay: realigned for 2021-22 to 2025-26 with ₹2,400 crore, enhanced by ₹1,000 crore in March 2025, taking the total to ₹3,400 crore for the 15th Finance Commission cycle
- NPBBDD — National Programme for Bovine Breeding and Dairy Development, launched February 2014, merging earlier schemes
- NLM — National Livestock Mission, since 2014-15, revised 2021-22; supports entrepreneurship, breed improvement and feed and fodder security
