Badri Calf Born via OPU-IVF in Uttarakhand, a First for Breed Conservation
A Badri female calf has been born through OPU-IVF technology at Pantnagar, marking a step forward in conserving Uttarakhand's state animal.
A healthy female Badri calf has been born through Ovum Pick-Up and In Vitro Fertilisation (OPU-IVF) technology at the Academic Dairy Farm, following the transfer of a Badri embryo into a Sahiwal recipient cow. The calf was delivered on 11 September 2026.
The Badri is an indigenous cattle genetic resource of Uttarakhand and holds the status of the state animal.
The work was carried out jointly by ICAR–National Dairy Research Institute (ICAR-NDRI), Karnal, and G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, with financial support from the Uttarakhand Biotechnology Council, Haldi.
Under the programme, oocytes were collected from selected genetically valuable Badri donor cows using ultrasound-guided ovum pick-up. These were matured and fertilised in vitro with semen from a genetically superior Badri bull, sourced through the Uttarakhand Livestock Development Board. The resulting embryos were cultured under controlled laboratory conditions and transferred into synchronised recipient cows.
One such embryo was transferred into a Sahiwal recipient, which gave birth to the healthy Badri female calf. Another synchronised crossbred recipient is expected to deliver a Badri calf within the next five to seven days.
Dr Dheer Singh, Director of ICAR-NDRI, Karnal, said advanced reproductive technologies such as OPU-IVF can help multiply elite female germplasm at a faster rate and support structured breed-improvement and germplasm-conservation programmes for Badri cattle. He noted that the birth provides a foundation for strengthening technology-based approaches to the breed's conservation and genetic improvement.
The research programme was initiated in 2023 under the leadership of the then Vice-Chancellor of G. B. Pant University, Dr M. S. Chauhan, when scientific collaboration between the two institutions began. Over the past three years, the teams have worked to establish OPU-IVF, embryo production and embryo transfer procedures for Badri cattle.
The technology allows multiple embryos to be produced from genetically superior females, potentially increasing the rate at which elite germplasm is multiplied compared with conventional reproductive methods.
The programme is also exploring the cloning of elite and high-producing Badri cows. The team has generated cloned Badri embryos through multiple stages of the ongoing research. In the next phase, embryos derived from OPU-IVF and cloning are planned to be transferred into suitable Sahiwal, crossbred and Badri recipient cows, with the aim of accelerating the multiplication of superior Badri germplasm.
The two institutions said they remain committed to collaborative research and technology-transfer initiatives for the conservation, genetic improvement and sustainable use of indigenous livestock breeds.