Union Agriculture Minister inaugurated the world’s second-largest refurbished gene bank

Source: PIB

What is the News?

The Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare 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.

About National Gene Bank:

1. National Gene Bank was established in 1996. It aims to preserve the seeds of Plant Genetic Resources (PGR) for future generations in the form of seeds, genomic resources, pollen etc.
2. Hosted By: National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), New Delhi.
3. Capacity: Presently, the Gene Bank is protecting 4.52 lakh accessions, of which 2.7 lakh are Indian germplasm and the rest have been imported from other countries.
   • Germplasm is a live information source for all the genes present in the respective plant. It can be conserved for long periods and regenerated whenever it is required in the future.

About National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources(NBPGR):

1. The National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources(NBPGR) was established in 1977 by renaming the National Bureau of Plant Introduction as NBPGR.
2. Parent Institute: It is one of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Institutes.
3. Mandate: To act as the nodal institute at the national level for acquisition, management and genomics-based profiling of indigenous and exotic plant genetic resources (PGR). The PGR is collected for food and agriculture and to carry out related research and human resources development for sustainable growth of agriculture.
4. Headquarters: New Delhi.
5. Significance: NBPGR is meeting the need of in-situ and ex-situ germplasm conservation through Delhi Headquarters and 10 regional stations in the country.