Taking an imperative towards conserving the diversity of indigenous crops in the country, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar has inaugurated the world’s second-largest refurbished state-of-the-art National Gene Bank at the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), Pusa, New Delhi.
The National Gene Bank will work towards preserving the seeds of Plant Genetic Resources (PGR) for future generations, and has the capacity to preserve about one million germplasm in the form of seeds.
The Minister also mentioned the imperativeness of the new gene bank with state-of-the-art facilities for germplasm – a living genetic tissue from which new plants can be grown. It can be a seed or another plant part – a leaf, a piece of stem, pollen or even just a few cells that can be turned into a whole plant. It can be used for the purpose of animal and plant breeding, preservation, and other research uses as well.
Established in 1996, the National Gene Bank (NGB) works towards preserving the seeds of Plant Genetic Resources (PGR) for future generations. Presently, the bank is protecting 4.52 lakh accessions, of which 2.7 lakh are Indian germplasm and the rest have been imported from other nations. National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources is meeting the need of in-situ and ex-situ germplasm conservation through Delhi Headquarters and 10 regional stations across India.
