New Delhi, March 5: The new ‘Gene Bank’ will help conserve the country’s genetic resources and will also ensure food security for future generations, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.
A gene bank is a repository of genetic material, such as seeds, pollen, or tissue samples, collected from different plant species to protect them from potential extinction and preserve vital varieties for future generations.
The Prime Minister announced the establishment of the Gene Bank during a post-budget webinar held via video conferencing today. First announced in the 2025-26 budget, this will be the country’s second National GenBank and is aimed at safeguarding India’s agricultural biodiversity.
The new “facility will house 10 lakh (1 million) germplasm lines, offering critical conservation support for both public and private sectors involved in genetic resource management,” said the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
Besides securing the future of food, the gene bank will also “support sustainable farming systems both domestically and internationally”. “The establishment of the second Gene Bank will strengthen India’s position as a leader in global biodiversity conservation.
This new facility will not only safeguard India’s invaluable plant genetic resources but also support international biodiversity initiatives, especially for countries in SAARC and BRICS regions, offering conservation assistance to those lacking well-established PGR networks” the ministry added.
India’s first gene bank was set up in 1996 by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBPGR) in New Delhi. It comprises 12 regional stations across the country for the collection and storage of vital crop germplasms.
These germplasms are the genetic constituents of plants or animals that are used in research, conservation, and crop breeding. Currently, the bank stores 0.47 million accessions (plant material stored and used for breeding), according to the database maintained by ICAR-NBPGR.
These include cereals (0.17 million accessions), millets (more than 60,600 accessions), legumes (over 69,200 accessions), oilseeds (more than 63,500 accessions), and vegetables (nearly 30,000 accessions).
“India is recognised as a biodiversity-rich country with a wide variety of cultivated crop species and their wild relatives. With over 811 cultivated crop species and 902 crop wild relatives, the nation plays a pivotal role in preserving plant genetic resources (PGR), which are essential for agricultural resilience, food security, and combating the challenges posed by climate change,” the Ministry said.
The existing National Gene Bank, led by ICAR-NBPGR, also conserves over 4.7 lakh accessions and supports the global effort of PGR conservation through partnerships and distributions to researchers, breeders, and scientists.
This is crucial as genetic diversity worldwide is facing threats due to factors such as “climate change, natural disasters, and geopolitical challenges”. “This redundancy structure will provide a fail-safe for India’s irreplaceable germplasm, ensuring long-term sustainability and global food security,” said the ministry.
IANS