Shivraj Singh Chouhan Unveils India's First Genome-Edited Rice Varieties as Union Agriculture Minister.

National

In May 2025, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW) announced the development of India's first two genome-edited (GE) rice varieties, namely, 'DRR Dhan 100 Kamla' and 'Pusa DST Rice 1' at Bharat Ratna C. Subramaniam Auditorium, National Agricultural Science Complex (NASC) in New Delhi (Delhi).


      - These innovative rice varieties were developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), headquartered in New Delhi (Delhi), using genome-editing technology based on CRISPR-Cas. This technique enables precise modifications in the organism's genetic material without incorporating foreign Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA).

      - He also introduced the 'Minus 5 Plus 10' formula, which aims to reduce the rice cultivation area by 5 million hectares (mh) and simultaneously increase rice production by 10 Million Tons (MT) within the same area. This approach is expected to create space for growing pulses and oilseeds.

     

Main Point :-   (i) During the launch event, the Union Minister honored the scientists who played key roles in the development of these genome-edited rice varieties.

      (ii) ICAR began its genome-editing research in 2018 to enhance two major rice varieties — Samba Mahsuri (BPT5204) and Maruteru 1010 (MTU 1010) — under the National Agricultural Science Fund (NASF).


About Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)

Director General (DG): Dr. Himanshu Pathak
Headquarters: New Delhi
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