The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare announced on Saturday that a healthy Badri female calf has been successfully born through Ovum Pick-Up and In Vitro Fertilization (OPU-IVF) technology. The calf was born on September 11, following the transfer of a Badri embryo into a Sahiwal recipient cow.

Collaborative Effort

This achievement was made possible through a collaborative effort between ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute (ICAR-NDRI), Karnal, and GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, with financial support from the Uttarakhand Biotechnology Council, Haldi. The ministry stated that this accomplishment demonstrates the potential of advanced reproductive biotechnology for the conservation, rapid multiplication, and genetic improvement of valuable Badri germplasm.

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"Advanced reproductive technologies such as OPU-IVF can help multiply elite female germplasm at a faster rate and support the development of structured breed-improvement and germplasm-conservation programmes for Badri cattle," said Dr. Dheer Singh, Director of ICAR-NDRI, Karnal.

Previous Successes

The ICAR-NDRI has previously utilized the same technology to produce calves from Sahiwal and Gir breeds of cattle. Dr. Praveen Malik, Chief Executive Officer of Agrinnovate India, praised the development, calling it an important milestone in the conservation of indigenous breeds.