Bio Agriculture
Agricultural biotechnology in India is advancing rapidly through innovations in genomics, transgenics, and gene editing under the Department of Biotechnology’s Agriculture Biotechnology programme.
Climate-Smart Crops: A drought-tolerant, high-yielding chickpea variety SAATVIK (NC 9) has been approved for cultivation. Genome-Edited Rice: Loss-of-function mutations in yield-limiting genes have led to improved rice lines like DEP1-edited MTU-1010, showing higher yields. Genotyping Arrays: India’s first 90K SNP arrays—IndRA for rice and IndCA for chickpea—enable DNA fingerprinting and variety identification. Amaranth Resources: A genomic database, NIRS techniques, and a 64K SNP chip aid nutritional screening and development of anti-obesity amaranth varieties. Biocontrol: A nano-formulation from Myrothecium verrucaria offers eco-friendly control of powdery mildew in tomato and grape. Kisan-Kavach: An anti-pesticide protective suit enhances farmer safety from toxic exposure.
