The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has announced the successful birth of a Badri cattle calf through advanced reproductive technology. The calf, born on 11 September 2026, was produced using Ovum Pick-Up and In Vitro Fertilization (OPU-IVF) technology at the Academic Dairy Farm. This development affects cattle breeders and conservationists working with Uttarakhand’s indigenous Badri breed, which is the state animal.
How the technology worked and what happens next
Scientists from ICAR–National Dairy Research Institute (ICAR-NDRI), Karnal, and G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, collaborated on this project with backing from the Uttarakhand Biotechnology Council. The research programme began in 2023.
In the OPU-IVF process, eggs were collected from carefully selected Badri cows using ultrasound guidance. These eggs were then matured and fertilised in a laboratory using semen from a genetically superior Badri bull obtained through the Uttarakhand Livestock Development Board. The resulting embryos were grown in controlled conditions and transferred into a Sahiwal recipient cow, which gave birth to a healthy female calf. Another Sahiwal recipient cow is expected to deliver a second Badri calf within the next 5 to 7 days.
The research teams have also made progress on cloning elite Badri cows. In the next phase, embryos created through both OPU-IVF and cloning will be transferred into Sahiwal, crossbred, and Badri recipient animals.
What this means for you
This technology allows scientists to produce multiple embryos from genetically superior female Badri cattle much faster than traditional breeding methods. This speeds up the multiplication of the best Badri genetics and supports long-term conservation of the breed. For cattle breeders and farmers in Uttarakhand, these advances could lead to improved herds and help preserve an important indigenous breed that might otherwise face genetic loss.