Centre launches world's first genome-edited rice to boost yields, cut emissions

The new rice varieties have been developed from popular mega cultivars - ‘Samba Mahsuri (BPT5204)’ and ‘MTU1010 (Cottondora Sannalu)’ - widely grown across India.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has developed the world’s first genome-edited rice varieties aimed at increasing crop yield, conserving water, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, on Sunday, unveiled the two new varieties - ‘DRR Dhan 100 (Kamala)’ and ‘Pusa DST Rice 1’ - calling them a potential game-changer for Indian farmers and a step towards a second Green Revolution.

“These climate-resilient and high-yielding rice varieties will strengthen India’s agricultural future,” said Chouhan while urging ICAR officials to expedite seed availability to farmers.

According to officials, the certified seeds will likely be ready for commercial cultivation within two years, following completion of the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) process.

These new varieties, developed using CRISPR-Cas genome-editing technology, enable precise genetic alterations without the introduction of foreign DNA. This will help scientists enhance traits such as stress tolerance, productivity, and climate adaptability.

As per the ICAR, cultivating these varieties on five million hectares of recommended farmland could yield 4.5 million additional tonnes of paddy, save 7,500 million cubic meters of irrigation water, and curb methane emissions by up to 20 percent due to their shorter maturity period - about 20 days earlier than conventional varieties.

"Genome-editing has paved the way for next-generation crop development," the ICAR noted in a statement, further stating that this breakthrough would also benefit other staple crops under India’s ‘Viksit Bharat’ vision.

The new rice varieties have been developed from popular mega cultivars - ‘Samba Mahsuri (BPT5204)’ and ‘MTU1010 (Cottondora Sannalu)’ - widely grown across India. The improved ‘Kamala’ and ‘Pusa DST Rice 1’ have been recommended for cultivation across major rice-producing states, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal.

The ICAR commenced its genome-editing research initiative in rice in 2018, with the goal of boosting nutritional value, stress resistance, and sustainability in staple crops without compromising existing genetic strengths.