The Government has announced the establishment of the second National Gene Bank to conserve 10 lakh crop germplasm for future food and nutritional security. This announcement is one of the initiatives under the theme “Investing in innovations” of Union Budget 2025-26.

 

            The National Gene Bank (NGB) at ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), New Delhi is the second largest Gene Bank globally with 4,71,561 accessions of 2157 species. The plant genetic resources conserved in the NGB are available for use by both public and private sector agencies involved in crop improvement and management of genetic resources in the country. Establishment of the Second Gene Bank with state-of-art infrastructure with the capacity of conserving 10 lakh germplasm is aimed at strengthening India’s position as a leader in global biodiversity conservation.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Bhagirath Choudhary in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.

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