GUWAHATI: India has become the first country in the world to develop genome-edited rice varieties, with the formal launch of two such varieties.
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The development was highlighted by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan via social media platform ‘X’ on Sunday, May 4, as this breakthrough has been achieved by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
To produce climate-resilient and high-yield agriculture, the two genome-edited rice varieties have been developed for multiple states, including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh.
The first variety, DRR Dhan 100 Kamala, derived from Samba Mahsuri, matures 15 to 20 days earlier and provides up to 25 per cent more yield. The second, Pusa DST Rice 1, offers tolerance to salinity and alkalinity, with a 30 per cent yield increase in saline conditions.
According to ICAR, the adoption of these varieties over an estimated 5 million hectares could generate an additional 4.5 million tonnes of paddy. Minister Chouhan termed the development as historic, noting its potential to reduce production costs, improve yields and support the country’s food security and agricultural sustainability efforts.
