Lok Sabha Question No. 1867 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-03-03
Subject: Artificial Insemination
Ministry: FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING
Asked by: Ranjeetsingh Naik Nimbalkar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED  QUESTION No. 1867 TO BE ANSWERED ON 3 RD  MARCH 2020

## ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION

1867. SHRI RANJEETSINGH HINDURAO NAIK NIMBALKAR:

## Will the Minister of FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING मत्स्यपाऱन , पशुपाऱन और डेयरी मंत्री

be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has been working to develop an indigenous technology for artificial insemination through sex sorted semen to tackle stray cattle menace;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the fresh steps taken by the Government to conserve indigenous breeds of cattle as well?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING (DR. SANJEEV KUMAR BALYAN)

- (a)  &  (b)  Indian  Council  of  Agricultural  Research  informed  that  ICAR-National  Dairy  Research Institute  (NDRI),  Karnal  (Haryana)  and  Anand  Agricultural  University,  Anand  (Gujarat)  are undertaking research on basic and applied aspects for developing an alternate method of sexing of cattle  semen  under  a  project  entitled  'Incentivising  research  in  agriculture  for  developing  an alternative method for sexing of semen as the technology' since 2015.
- (c) In order to complement and supplement the efforts made by the States for development and conservation of indigenous breeds Government of India has taken following steps to supplement the efforts of States:
- I) Conservation of Indigenous Bovine Breeds
- i) Gokul Gram:  21 Integrated indigenous cattle development Centres - 'Gokul Grams'- are being established under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission with the aim of conservation and development of indigenous bovine breeds in a scientific and holistic manner.
- ii) National Kamdhenu Breeding Centre: Two National Kamdhenu Breeding Centre (NKBC) as repository of indigenous germplasm of all indigenous breeds and supply certified germplasm to the  farmers  undertaking  rearing  of  indigenous  breeds  and  increasing  their  stock  are  under establishment.  Establishment  of  National  Kamdhenu  Breeding  Centre  in  Andhra  Pradesh  at

Chintaladevi  located  in  Nellore  District  has  been  completed  and  work  is  under  progress  for Northern Region NKBC in Madhya Pradesh.

iii) Pashu Sanjivni:   Animals in milk are being identified under the Pashu Sanjivni using poly urethane tags with 12 digit unique identification number and their data is being uploaded on INAPH database. As on date 27.02.2020, 2.95 crore animals tagged and their data have been uploaded on INAPH data base.

## II) Breed Improvement by Modern Reproductive Techniques

- i) Establishment/strengthening of Embryo Transfer and In-Vitro Fertilization centres:  Projects for strengthening/ establishment of 30 ETT/IVF labs have been sanctioned for propagation of elite animals  of  indigenous  breeds  and  to  meet  demand  of  bulls  of  indigenous  breeds.  Centre  of Excellence  for  Indigenous  Breeds  (CoEIB)  at  3  locations  are  under  establishment  for  providing training  in  Embryo  Transfer  Technology,  In  Vitro  Fertilization  Technique,  Sex  Sorted  Semen production,  Genomics  and  retraining  of  skilled  manpower  in  latest  developments  in  breeding technologies.
2. ii) National  Bovine  Genomic  Centre  for  Indigenous  Breeds  (NBGC-IB):  Funds  have  been released to National Bureau of Animal Genetics Resources and National Dairy Development Board for  development  of  genomic  chip.    A  custom  made  genotyping  chip  (INDUSCHIP)  which  is suitable to genotype Indian cattle breeds and their crosses has been developed by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and till date 15,574 animals have been genotyped in order to create referral population. NDDB has developed buffchip for genomic selection of buffaloes and till date 4,320 buffaloes have been genotyped.

iii) Establishment  of  Facility  for  Sex  Sorted  Semen  Production:    Projects  from  12  semen stations Gujarat, Haryana, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya  Pradesh, Maharashtra Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar  Pradesh,  Uttarakhand,  Punjab  and  Himachal  Pradesh  have  been  sanctioned  and Central Share has been released to 11 stations.  The use sex sorted semen will not only enhance milk production but also crucial in limiting population of male cattle/ stray cattle.

III) Genetic upgradation through traditional techniques:

- i) Progeny Testing: Milk production is a sex limited trait therefore genetic potential of the bull is estimated by the performance of the daughters. The scientific breeding method for estimating predicted transmitting ability of bulls on daughters' performance is termed as progeny testing. 14 Organised Progeny Testing Programmes (PTP) initiated under NDP-I have been subsumed under Rashtriya Gokul Mission since March 2019. During 2019-20 (upto December 2019), 291progeny tested bulls produced under the programme
2. ii) Pedigree selection: Under  the  programme,  male  calves  are  selected  on  the  basis  of pedigree details and performance of dam, sire and other ancestors in the pedigree.  The pedigree selection programmes initiated under NDP-I have been subsumed under RGM since March 2019. During  2019-20  (upto  December  2019),  39  High  Genetic  Merit  bulls  produced  under  the programme.
3. IV) Extension of Artificial Insemination Coverage:
- i) Nationwide  Artificial  Insemination  (AI)  programme:  Nationwide  Artificial  Insemination programme has been launched on 11 th September 2019 for implementation in 605 districts with less than 50% Artificial Insemination coverage covering 300 villages per district and 20,000 animals per district. The programme is extended to all the districts of North eastern States and Union Territory Jammu and Kashmir.  Under the programme 33.27 lakh animals covered and 16.77 lakh farmers got benefitted as on date 27.02.2020.
5. ii) Krishi  Kalyan  Abhiyan:    Artificial  Insemination  Coverage  (AI)  with  High  Yielding Indigenous Breeds in the 112 aspirational districts identified by Niti Aayog has been implemented during  2018-19.  Under  the  programme  9.05  lakh  animals  covered  using  semen  of  High  genetic merit bulls of indigenous breeds.

## V) Awareness Program:

- i) National Gopal Ratna and Kamdhenu Awards: In order to create awareness and reward for farmers and Institutions who are engaged in scientific management of recognized Indigenous cattle breeds, National Gopal Ratna and National Kamdhenu Award have been instituted under Rashtriya Gokul Mission.
2. ii) E Pashu Haat Portal:  E Pashu Haat portal has been developed for connecting breeders and farmers  regarding  availability  of  quality  bovine  germplasm  of  indigenous  breeds.  Information  of 11.54 crores semen doses; 363 embryos and 18.13 lakh live animals are available on the portal as on date 27.2.2020.