Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the creation of a new gene bank to store India’s agricultural biodiversity and provide food security for future generations. The initiative, which was launched during a post-budget webinar, is a significant step towards the protection of the country’s genetic resources. A gene bank is a genetic material depot; seeds and plant tissue, etc., which safeguards important species from going extinct. This will be India’s second National GenBank after the first was set up in 1996 by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBPGR). The new Gene Bank will store 10 lakh germplasm lines and will provide conservation support to both the public and private sectors involved in genetic resource management. It will also help in the global biodiversity conservation efforts and particularly aid the SAARC and BRICS partners who do not have well-established plant genetic resource networks. At present, India’s first gene bank stores 0.47 million accessions of cereals, millets, pulses, oilseeds and vegetables. The new facility will further enhance India’s position as a leader in biodiversity conservation and agricultural sustainability. The Ministry of Agriculture pointed out that India is one of the leading countries in plant genetic resource conservation by being able to cultivate 811 crop species and having 902 wild relatives. The New Gene Bank will be a fail-safe measure against climate change, natural disasters and geopolitical challenges. This initiative will secure genetic diversity to support research, breeding programs and long term food security. It is reasoned that this second National GenBank will increase India’s agricultural production and enhance India’s role in global conservation.
New Gene Bank to Safeguard Genetic Resources and Food Security
