India’s first cloned Gir calf ‘Ganga’ produced at NDRI

Karnal, March 27

In another major achievement in the animal science field after getting success in buffalo cloning, the National Dairy Research Institute (ICAR-NDRI) has become the first institute in the country to produce a cloned calf of cattle.

Scientists of the institute have produced a female cloned calf from the somatic cell of the tail of the indigenous Gir cow breed, which is a native tract in Gujarat and is popular for its docile nature, disease-resistance, heat-tolerance and high milk producing qualities. The breed is also in high demand in Brazil, the USA, Mexico and Venezuela.

The newborn cloned female calf of the cow has been named “Ganga”, which weighs 32kg and is growing well. The scientists used three animals for producing this calf of a cow. Oocyte was taken from the Sahiwal breed, somatic cell from the Gir breed and a surrogate animal was a cross breed.

The scientists claimed the research would prove to be a major milestone in the conservation of the indigenous breeds of cattle that were on the verge of extinction.

Overcoming the challenges in the cloning of cattle owing to certain practical and operational difficulties, scientists Dr Naresh Selokar, Dr Manoj Kumar Singh, Dr Ajay Pal Singh Aswal, Dr SS Lathwal, Dr Subhash Kumar Chand, Dr Ranjeet Verma, Dr Kartikey Patel and Dr MS Chauhan took two years to taste the success.

The project was started in 2021 by the NDRI in collaboration with Uttarakhand Livestock Development Board (ULDB), Dehradun, for the cloning of indigenous cows such as Gir, Sahiwal, and Red Shindi under the leadership of Dr Chauhan, the then director of the NDRI.

The scientists used hand-guided cloning technology which is an economical and efficient method of cloning in comparison to other technologies of the world.

However, this cloned calf was produced on March 16, but after the genetic parentage verification, Dr Himanshu Pathak, Secretary, Department of Agriculture Research and Education (DARE) and Director General Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), announced this achievement on Monday.

Breakthrough in 2009

• On February 6, 2009, scientists of the NDRI had given the first cloned calf to the world, but it could survive only for five-six days
• The scientists, however, did not give up. Their efforts bore fruit on June 6, 2009, as a female cloned calf Garima was produced, which survived for over two years
• Later, they had produced Garima-2 on August 22, 2010, which has so far produced seven normal calves
• Scientists also produced the first male calf Shresth on Aug 26, 2010, whose semen is being used for multiplication of good germplasm

Producing quality dairy animals

The cattle cloning technique will bring new dimensions to our scientific efforts to produce quality indigenous dairy animals. — Dr Dheer Singh, director, NDRI